


You can't kill that which never dies - A storm's brewing

by Blowalullaby



Series: You can't kill that which never dies [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: Bullying, Canon Temporary Character Death, Enemies to Friends, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Mystery, Protective Siblings, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25615987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blowalullaby/pseuds/Blowalullaby
Summary: Karen McCormick had always felt like a prey. She was tiny, weak, and she didn't have the charisma that would allow her to be left alone. And now that Kenny has seemingly disappeared, she feels more lonely than ever. In the meantime, Mysterion has to adjust to the way his curse worsen, while trying to find out how to end it and come back to normal. What neither of them expected tough, was for another superhero to have their powers become real...
Series: You can't kill that which never dies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938364
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. The glitch

**Author's Note:**

> I won't schedule any date for the incoming chapters, because as always I am slowed down by my multiple projects and my laziness. But, I can assure you that we are going somewhere, and that there will be an end. I always, always, give an end to my stories.  
> So, if you reader wants to join in for the ride, enjoy yourself without worries, and have a nice read !

It was warm, and if it hadn’t been for the bad quality of the matress, it could have been cozy. The light, filtering through the worn out curtains of his room, had awoke Kenny a few moments ago, but laziness convinced him to stay in bed. Through half-lided eyes, he could decipher Karens’s face in the early morning. Apparently, she had discreetly came in his bed after a nightmare, last night. Their parents weren’t up yet. Karen was peacefully sleeping. And nothing could have convinced Kenny McCormick to interrupt this moment of grace.

However, the little girl decided she wasn’t sleepy anymore. She rubbed her eyes, not quite awoke yet, and Kenny couldn’t refrain a smile forming on his lips. The soft spot he had for her would probably last forever. She yawned, and though her breath wasn’t very fresh, he stopped himself from wincing. She looked around, still not very alert, until her expression tensed in a fraction, face shifting from tired to worried and confused. « Kenny ? » she whispered softly, so she didn’t wake the other persons living in the house.

« Mmh » half replied Kenny, therefore abandoning with regrets the idea of sleeping in a bit more. He had to prepare somewhat of a breakfast for his little sister, now that she was awake.

He sat up and stretched out his limbs, until his pained articulations cracked in protest. Ouch. The aftermath from yesterday’s truck still lingered somewhere in his body’s memory.

« Kenny ? » Karen called again, louder. She seemed to be looking for something, and the movements of her head were frantics.

« What’s the matter ? » asked back Kenny, thinking that she hadn’t heard him the first time. But Karen didn’t seem to acknowledge him. She got up, walked out of the room, and Kenny heard her footsteps crossing the corridor.

He finally resolved to get up, and adjusted the parka that had welcomed his corpse last night. Once again. But before he could reach the handle of his door, Karen forcefully pushed it open and started to search all over his room. « Kenny ! Where are you ? It’s time to go ! »

Kenny felt his whole body stiffen, as he finally understood. Oh. So, it happened again. He observed his sister worry, going through his room, pulling the covers inside out, as well as his pillow, before she threw the magazines hidden under his mattress all over the floor. Kenny felt his heart stop momentarily when his precious magazines went in contact with his sister’s hand, but thankfully Karen didn’t pay them any attention, solely focused on her research. He promised himself he’d find a better place to hide his collection.

As she started to look around the house, moving objects, glass bottles and canets on her way, Stuart’s voice roared in the deaf morning « What the fuck is this ruckus ?! » Immediately, Karen stilled and snapped her hand to her mouth, fearing even the sound of her breathing would be enough to further irritate her father. Kenny frowned. He knew Karen was terrified of their father, but as he reached out for her, his hand, though he most definitely touched her, didn’t seem to be felt.

Defeated, he let go of her, who let out a relieved sigh when Stuart didn’t seem to further investigate the cause of all that fuss. Karen tiptoed to the kitchen, and pulled a frozen waffle from the fridge to split between her brothers and her, letting them unfroze in the moist air of the house while she returned to her room to get ready for school. Kenny could read the disappointment on her face when, as she came back in the kitchen, she realised none of her brothers had shown up at all.

* * *

If there was one thing that Karen was very aware of, it was that she was a prey.

As she left the house, empty-stomached and heavy-hearted, she felt her guts twist at the sole prospect of going to school. She had a project to present to the whole class, about everyday heroes, and she wasn’t ready to feel all those stares on her.

Karen was known in town to be a sweet and sensitive child. Therefore, adults would marvel at her softness, especially knowing the environment she was growing in.

But this particular aspect of her personality were not seen in a positive way by her fellow classmates. If a gentle, quiet child appeared as a blessing to the parents, it wasn’t the same thing in the schoolyard. She felt like she reeked weakness, and as multiple sets of young eyes were spotting her any time an adult wasn’t around, she often wished she could become invisible.

So to feel those same eyes watching her while she presented a work on her guardian angel ? That was way beyond her comfort zone.

Karen’s feet were heavy, and as she dragged herself along the road, drowning quietly in her worry, she couldn’t help but unconsciously throwing glances over her shoulder. Was it Kenny she hoped to merge from nowhere, like he always did? Or was she expecting a threat, watching her from afar, ready to strike? She couldn’t stand feeling this vulnerable.

Moreover, Kenny was slowly drifting away. Not only from her, but from everyone. He seemed to let go of everything and everyone, in a quiet detachment, fading in the background of everybody’s lives. He was absent most of the time, and even when she was in his company, he always looked faraway, transparent, as if he wasn’t really there. It was probably this, his absence, that made her feel so low, and she wished she could, like most kids, pretend to be sick in order to stay in on this school day.

She quickly arrived at the bus stop where Kenny and his friends usually waited for the bus. Kenny and her always had to come earlier, as the bus for the youngest of the elementary school came before the one for the olders. Kyle was already there, barely acknowledging her presence with a quick nodd while he was texting. Next to him, Ike was seemingly talking to himself, in that odd way little kids sometimes did. Karen let out a quick « Hi, » before she started to pace, repeating her presentation in her head, already stressing out. Kyle didn’t even asked her where her brother was. He, as well as the others, had stopped doing so awhile ago, used by now to her brother’s random disappearances.

She spent the first half of her day living through a blur, mind fogged by the constant repetition of her presentation to come, and the endless possibilities of what could go wrong. It is only when finally, her name was called to the front of the class that her mind seemed to be suddenly hyper-aware of her surrounding. The dozens of eyes where assessing her, and suddenly, she felt very stupid, standing there, in front of them. The teacher gave her an encouraging smile, so she gulped down with difficulty to moist her dry throat.

« Everyday heroes, » she started.

The sole statement of her subject was enough to generate a general chuckle throughout the classroom. Embarrassed, she felt her cheeks burning, and unconsciously her voice lowered. « An everyday hero is a person who is fighting, or putting their life in danger, to save others, without even wanting recognition for their efforts. »

Once more, giggles echoed. The teacher barely hushed, before turning back to Karen, asking kindly : « Could you speak a little louder, please, Karen ? »

Frozen by fear, Karen nodded, and took a deep breath. Then, she continued, trying to raise up her voice : « There are many kind of everyday heroes, but today I wish to present you one that I personally know and admire, my guardian angel. »

It is at this very moment that the general mood shifted from childish mockery to something darker, and more cruel. The class exploded in a fit of demonic laughter that took way too long for the teacher to quiet. A long, long time that Karen used to rush and finish her presentation, not bothering to be heard. No one was listening anyway. Confused, she felt her eyes stir up, as she didn’t understand what she did wrong and why she was ridiculed. Was it only because it was her ? Had anyone else did that presentation, would they have been laughed at all the same ?

She mumbled her conclusion halfheartedly. Then, she hurried to her sit in the back corner of the classroom, hiding herself in the hair she had kept down on this purpose solely. But that soft barrier wasn’t enough to stop the feeling of dozens of burning eyes, filled with despise.

It wasn’t until recess, later on, that troubles occurred. Karen was usually safe in recess. Everybody knew that you couldn’t lay a hand on Kenny McCormick’s little sister, unless you wanted to mess with his fists. When he was there, he often came to see her and urged her to bond with the others, though it never really worked out. Most of the time, she just stayed alone in her safe space, until school was over.

The only problem was that right now, she really needed to pee. She had a feeling this wasn’t a good idea, but she had already made a fool of herself earlier, and she knew that peeing herself would only damage her already bad reputation. So, she went to the bathroom as discreetly as she could, and managed to lock herself in one of the stalls.

The doors opened, feeling the small close space with laughs and shout. She didn’t recognize their voices, though, but the slight lisp and the high-pitched voices betrayed their young age. Whoever they were, though, they started calling out her name.

« Karen ! Baby Karen ! Where are you hiding ? »

Karen muffled her breath with her hands, until she heard a door bang, as if someone was kicking at the toilets stalls. Another fit of laughter filled the tiny rooms, followed by another bang. Despite her effort, Karen was unable to stop the little noise forming at the back of her throat, as fear filled her. Her instincts were on alert, just like the last time, in that other school.

Would her guardian angel be there now, too ?

« Come on, little baby. We want to hear more of your « Guardian Angel ». That’s such a baby thing ! It’s stupid. Are you lying, or only stupid ? »

Another bang, followed by another fit of laughters, encouraged by shady remarks. « I’m… I’m not stupid. He is real. » muttered Karen to herself.

« I wonder, little crybaby, why out of everyone, would _you_ have a guardian angel ? »

This time, it was the door next to hers that banged. The words didn’t impress her much, but the noise, the laughs at her expense, generated a threatening atmosphere crawling all over her skin. She let out a little startled cry, and the laughers only doubled.

« I mean, what do you have that is so special ? Why would anyone specifically protect you ? You are a nobody. You have no friends, except for your freak of a brother ! Everyone hates you. You are just so weak, it’s annoying. Without your brother around, you are nothing. »

And finally, it was at her stall the foot kicked. In her panicked state, the words didn’t even ake sens anymore. All she could think about, was that she needed to _get out_. Karen felt a warm liquid followed by an acre smell between her legs. She didn’t have the time to realize what had happened, that the same snickering voice exclaimed : « Ew ! Gross !"

"I can’t believe she actually pissed herself !" said another one.

"Hey Pissy-pants ! Why won’t you come out now ? What are you so scared of ? You have a guardian angel, don’t you ? »

As the sneers became hysterical, a new voice arose. « She had enough. Stop already. It’s not even funny. »

That voice… Karen knew that deadpanned, yet sweet voice.

« Come on, Trish, how this isn’t funny ? She pissed her pants, the little pussy ! »

« It was to be expected. It was too easy, she doesn’t even fight back. No fun here. I leave. »

Karen waited a few minutes, making sure they actually left. She hadn’t even noticed the wet streaks on her cheeks, nor the cooling liquid drying on her itching thighs. She didn’t even realize that she was still crying, sobbing and wheezing in the quiet of the toilets, until someone gently knocked on the other side of her door.

« Hey, are you ok ? Do you need help ? »

Karen tried to answer, but she was unable to. She felt so humiliated. So stupid. She wanted to disappear right here and now, just like her brother seemed to magically do sometimes. The last thing she wanted, was for someone to see her like this.

« New Kid, go get the teacher, » said the kind voice. A pause, then she spoke again, annoyed « I don’t know which one ! Just find one please. They might be hurt, in there. »

She wanted to shout, to pray them not to get anyone, that she wanted to be alone, but her breath was stuck in her throat. The gentle voice kept speaking, trying to soothe her, unsuccessfully, and Karen thought she might have died of embarrassment when she had to open the door to one of the teacher, who simply said. « Well, we’re going to Mackey. We’re going to call the parents. »

This was definitely the worst day of her entire life, and even her nightmares from last night didn’t compare to this.

* * *

If there was one thing Kenny was thankful of regarding his random invisibility, was that he didn’t have to go to school. What he hated, though, was that he felt ignored. Though he hated his friends, sometimes, one could not get bored with them, and despite everything, they had went through too much together to simply ignore each other. There was too many embarrassing things in displays, anyway, that could easily be used to blackmail the potential traitor.

Kenny missed his friends. No, more exactly, he missed the time he felt like he was important to them. He used to be a real member of the quatuor, and if Cartman had always viewed him as the scapegoat, Stan and Kyle used to care about him.

He must admit that he had changed, a little. Before, he was a little more carefree, selfish, than he was now. But Karen happened, his precious little sister he hadn’t expected to love so much, given his relationship with his older brother, and he had been forced to age up early. Then, he had discovered that his curse was much deeper than what he thought to be a cool superpower. And now, Kenny was stuck in between the weird characteristics of a typical nine year old, and the maturity of a teenager, if not a grown-up.

The first time his invisibility occurred, it had lasted an hour. An hour that quickly went by, playing pranks on his friends, parents, or the teachers at school. One of his favorite invisibility time, was when he managed to sneak into the girl’s changing room on P.E. But as the episodes became longer and more recurrent, he slowly had started to get bored while invisible. What was the joy of messing with others if no one ever knew you were the one behind the pranks ? What was the fun if he couldn’t share it with his friends ?

So since he wasn’t allowed to be a silly nine year old, Kenny used his invisibility to save the world as Mysterion.

He shouldn’t have been surprised though, that his curse was changing. Lately, things in South Park seemed to get stranger and stranger, and as a cursed child, there wasn’t much that could disturb him. Yesterday alone, he had to pursue those dumb rats, which had stolen half of his cock magic cards. It wasn’t the biggest crime that ever occurred, but still it was pretty annoying. And of course, that stupid truck hit him before he could reach them.

Now, his curse was glitching once again. He didn’t like the feeling, to be honest. It was nothing like when his soul wandered on earth, immaterial like some kind of ghosts. No, he felt _alive_ , but it was like no one around him could see, smell, hear, nor feel him. He could interact with things and others, he could feel every sensation in his body, yet it was as if it was one-sided, and he had no impact in the outer world. He very much felt like everything and everyone was ignoring him.

In his Mysterion outfit, he always tended to feel a bit darker. A mood that suited his superhero persona, and his curse, pretty well. Deciding he would get his cards back, Mysterion crossed Sodosopa, until he reached the storages on the other side of what he liked to call his territory, or his kingdom, depending on his mood. The poorest part of the city, where outsiders, wrenches, druggies and homeless resided. All of that was under his responsability. It was all the places Karen was exposed to, so it was all the places that needed to be safe.

It was on the road between Sodosopa and U-Storit that he had been rolled over. Just seeing the asphalt was enough to brought the echo of his ribs cracking to his ears. He couldn’t help a chill running down his spine every time he came across a place he died. No wonder he was constantly cold.

Unsurprisingly, there was no sign of his recent death, nor of the rats. He supposed that, at least, the thieves hadn’t died and still had his cards, hidden somewhere. He started to go through the storages, until he spotted a dark stinking blotch stuck on the ground. As he got closer, he realized it was rat corpses. The unmoving bodies laid with their guts out in the open, small drops of blood still visible on the ground.

« Damn. I hope whatever attacked them left my cards intact… », Mysterion cursed under his breath. He stared at them in silence, feeling a small pang of pity for the poor creatures. He wasn’t particularly attached to animals in general (that was too much of a Stan thing), but he always had a particular relationship with rats, based on an unsure mix of love and hate he couldn’t really explain. The disgusting little creatures had the bad habit of eating his many corpses, which he didn’t like, but on the other hand… He felt a strange connection to them, in the intelligence he could guess in their eyes and behaviors, and the way they looked at him. Mysterion considered briefly, guided by a twisted sense of humor, to eat those corpses in retaliation. In the end, he decided against it, and discarded the lifeless bundle of fur.

Climbing on top of the storages, Mysterion look out in search of other hints concerning his precious cards. Kenny was a simple person, but in the few things he liked, it was passionately. He adored singing, girls, and playing any kind of games. And he was good at it, especially at cock magic. It was fun, cheap, and easy, and he knew that the loss of his cards shouldn’t have upset him so much, but he couldn’t help it.

Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen.

For a week day, South Park was quiet. An eerie quiet, that left a strange coldness within. Feeling suddenly cold, Mysterion pulled up the hood of his costume and tightened his cape around him. It is then that something caught his attention, a rectangular shape that seemed to be taped to the further wall of an empty storage. He got closer, to see an envelope. Inside was a card, and a note. The back of the card was a replica of a cock magic card design, except that the front of it was entirely blank. Intrigued, Kenny took a look at the note, that seemingly addressed to him.

 _Very_ _well, Mysterion. Seems like you found the first clue,_

_Now, would you let me introduce to you :_

_You want your card game, and I want to play._

_You might know it all, at the end of the day._

_But before we start, I really want to know,_

_Seeking the truth, how far can you go_?

Mysterion raised a skeptic eyebrow. Not only these were bad rhymes, but the whole thing seemed to be pretty stupid, too. He had lived in South Park for almost ten years now, so he needed a lot to worry about anything. The only thing that annoyed him, was that someone had his precious game hidden somewhere. He shall take some time soon to look around the city and find the little bastard that dared to play with one of his rare belonging.

But for now, it started to get late, and Karen was surely home for school. If he were lucky, his glitching would stop before he reached his house.

* * *

The house was quiet, strangely, when the nurse kindly offered to take her home. She had tried to join her parents three times, before she understood that they wouldn’t answer no matter what. So she gave the child some new clothes, a plastic bag for her dirty ones, then encouraged Karen to go to class. Seeing how panicked she was at the idea, they had talk for awhile, until the nurse gave her a ride to the south east part of the city. She couldn’t refrain a grimace, seeing the deteriorated state of this part of town, but she didn’t comment, which Karen was thankful of.

She found her father, staring blankly at the TV screen playing some strange cartoon. She guessed her mother was taking a nap in her room, as the door was shut. After this horrible day, she felt the need to talk, fast, and there was only one person she could go to. She just hoped he was back from whatever had kept him from coming in the morning…

She passed her neck through her brother’s room, whose door was ajar, only to find it empty. But on the floor, she saw a piece of an orange cloth that felt totally surreal, knowing how it was usually practically glued to its owner’s skin. _Is that really ?_ She wondered, feeling the familiar texture between her fingertips as she picked it up. Kenny’s anorak had really been lying on his bedroom floor. That was enough to make the bitter events from school vanish from her brain, replaced by a carefully kept sense of panic.

Keeping the anorak close to her chest, she went to her room, and hid the plastic bag containing her soiled clothes under her bed. She’d have to find a time her parents weren’t home to wash them. She didn’t expect Kevin to be in their shared room, though, since lately he had been spending his nights out.

Kevin was… complicated. He wasn’t a bad guy, but… It was very hard for Karen to understand him. He seemed closeted in a world of his own, and apart from the regular fights he had with their dad, he never interacted much with them. It was as if everything was indifferent, indistinctive. Kenny repeated that he was retarded, and mom told he was a drunkard, like their father. Karen didn’t know what to think. In one hand, he was her brother, and if he never actively tried to communicate with her, he never took her hands off him when she was hiding behind him during fights. She couldn’t be sure, but she imagined that, deep down, under that blank face and the absence constantly ghosting his eyes, he cared.

He barely reacted when she entered the room and settle on her bed, but out of a persistent habit, she greeted a timid « Hello », that knew no response. She waited a minute before she insisted : « Hey, hum. I’m kind of worried about Kenny. I haven’t seen him all day, and I just found his parka in his bedroom… I know this is weird but… It is so unlike him. Do you know anything ? » But as she should have expected, no answer. Kevin didn’t move, and not even a blink would signal that he was paying her any attention.

The air was too thick, living between these three wax dolls, and the lack of one wanted presence. As her worry refused to die, gawking at her stomach like a starved wolf, she crawled to her mother’s room and shyly knocked. Just a groan answered her from the other side of the door, but it was enough to allow her in.

The room reeked with an acid smell Karen couldn’t name. She didn’t even scrunched up her nose. On the bed, Carol barely lifted her head from the flat cushion it was resting on, as her daughter’s panicked face stumbled to join her on the mattress. « Mom. Where is Kenny ? »

Carol put her hand to her temple, before letting out a slurred « What ? »

« Where is Kenny ? I can’t find him anywhere. »

« Dunno. Prob’ly with his friends. »

« But, look. I found his jacket on the floor ! »

Carol pushed herself up to lean on her elbow, as she rubbed tiredly at her face. She then looked closely at the piece of cloth her daughter was showing, squinting in the process, until she started to mutter unintelligibly.

« What time’s it ? Dinner’s ready ? »

Karen huffed, but continued nonetheless. « Mom, I’m worried. Where’s Kenny ? »

« Don’t worry. The’s nothin’ that can really hurt him, anyway. C’mon, we’re makin’ dinner. »

Carol took her daughter’s hand, the one that wasn’t holding the familiar parka, as she swayed and struggled to stay on her feet. When they passed by Stuart, he grumbled, seeing the unfamiliar outfit her daughter was wearing « What the fuck are those shitty clothes ? »

« Shut the fuck up, Stuart. » Carol automatically responded.

Karen prayed for her father to stay silent, but he was probably too stoned still to react much anyway. Carol took two frozen waffles from the fridge. « Only two ? » asked Karen. « Well, you said Kenny wasn’t here. Go find Kevin, dinner’s ready. I’ll take this fucker out of the couch. » She then paused, took a glance at her daughter, and her face melted from annoyance to worry in a fraction. « Where did you get these clothes ? You didn’t steal them, did you ? »

From the living room, Stuart yelled « As if she’d have the balls to do that. Kenny’s the only one in that goddamn family who’s able to take care of himself. »

« I don’t call _dying_ being able to take care of yourself, » Carol mumbled. « Honey, where did you get these clothes ? »

Karen glanced attentively at the arch leading to the living room, looking for any sign of movement, before she spoke softly : « From school, mom. The nurse gave them to me. »

« What happened ? » urged Carol.

« Nothing, » she lied. « I just fell on the playground, and ripped my clothes. So they gave me new ones. But it’s ok, the nurse is going to sew them back together, and I’ll have them tomorrow. » she added quickly, as her mother started to scowl.

« You should be more careful, Karen. We don’t have money to spend on new clothes, you know that. »

« I promise I’ll pay more attention. »

With that, she exited the kitchen, avoided at best her father’s gaze, to tell Kevin dinner was ready. They shared a frozen waffle, as their parents argued over theirs. Kevin didn’t spit a word this time, and Kenny wasn’t even here to give her meaningful glances and share knowing giggles.

It is in that gloomy atmosphere that she realized just how lonely she truly was when he wasn’t here. Kevin had escaped sometime during « dinner ». Missing him, she couldn’t help but to put her brother’s parka on herself as she went to bed, seeking comfort in its warmth. That’s when she felt a hand gently rubbing her shoulders, and another patiently undoing the knots in her hair. She turned around, fear replace by joy and relief as a familiar silhouette sat on her bed, surprised. « Guardian Angel ! ».

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not english, and I don't have beta-readers, but I love the English language and I really want to improve (that's part of why I'm writing this). So if you see any mistakes and want to tell me, go ahead, I'll be pleased !
> 
> Thank you, and I hope you had a nice time reading this.


	2. Superheroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is hard to write Tweek's speech, as he speaks so fast ! I hope the way I did it is okay, and that it is not too hard or disutrbing to read. I also just read this chapter again to correct some mistakes, but some may have slipped by, and if that's the case, I'm sorry. Hope you enjoy this chapter !

Tricia was bored.

On this Wednesday evening, she was catching her basketball at it bumped on the wall and back into her hands. She was throwing it in a rhythmic motion, while watching the two groups of older boys, one of them including her brother, playing on the basketball court. Craig and his gang had no chance against Kyle, the majority of the time, but it happened that Butters was the only one nice enough to accept to replace that other guy, the poor one, who was missing. And even if the orange-clad boy wasn’t the most invested in the game when he was here, he was at least an average player, whereas Butters was just plainly terrible.

Poor guy. Even from this distance, she could see the redhead’s ears fuming underneath his chapka, and it wasn’t hard to guess what kind of word he was throwing at Butters after he had missed the ball for the seventh time in a row. As if yelling at him would make him any better.

Deciding she was uninterested, Tricia averted her eyes to the sandboxes, where were gathered most of the kids her age, too young to join the big boys on the court, yet too old to be interested in playing with kindergaterners. Boys and girls were battling, trying to see who could build the biggest sandcastle. Tricia laid her eyes on them for awhile, refusing to admit this was a longing stare.

She didn’t need anyone, and she was fine with no one needing her.

The independence of her mind, that was something to be admired for. It happened often, after a particularly wise and sharp remark, that Thomas exclaimed, between blown away and incredulous: « That’s a real Tucker ! ». And Laura repeated her that she had quite a temper, pride dripping off her voice when she said her daughter wasn’t one to be afraid of anyone. That was something Tricia herself was proud of. She could speak her mind anytime, not caring if she hurt, if she shocked, as long as what she said fitted her way of thinking. She didn’t actively seek to hurt others, but…. That honesty, associated with her brother’s reputation, had earned her both fear and respect from everyone in her class and bellow, without any effort. She was navigating between groups of people, a free satellite who never stay attached to anyone for very long. She was admired, the center of attention, and really, Tricia was fine with that.

If only she didn’t feel so lonely, in the middle of that court surrounding her.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed movement in the far end of the park. A shy, petite figure, was agitating her hands in what seemed to be an animated conversation with herself. She didn’t take long to recognize the youngest McCormick, and instantly the tiniest bit of guilt panged at her stomach.

She hadn’t mean to let all of this go so far. She had been bored, so she simply tagged along, when some of the girls in her class had talked about pranking her. It hadn’t even been funny : no game is fun when the winner is obvious, and there was no way the sweet, innocent Karen could have backfired at them.

Tricia had never particularly liked Karen. There was something fake in her candid behavior. Tricia couldn’t really tell what it was that seemed so off about her, but… She had a feeling Karen was nice, because she didn’t have any other choice. She wasn’t peculiarly skilled, she wasn’t smart, in fact all that was left for her to have any bond with the others, was to be nice. So much innocence, so much gentleness, sweetness, it couldn't be anything but an act, pushed by the necessity to survive. The worst was that being nice didn't even made her a favor, as she was probably the most plain people Tricia had ever met. Never raising her voice, never telling what she really thought... But though Tricia wasn’t fond of Karen, she didn’t want her any harm, either.

She had been shocked, to see that the others, on the contrary, we’re just getting started, when the pathetic creature ridiculed herself in front of them. She wondered how far they would have gone, if she hadn’t stopped it.

Tricia stared at the other girl, an oversized orange parka thrown over her shoulders, the hint of a smile making her eyes sparkles as she spoke passionately into the void. She seemed so happy, lost in her own little word, completely forgetting the one happening around her. She looked a bit silly, honestly, and Tricia couldn’t deny how weird she looked, walking and talking out in the open.

But somehow, that Karen was so different, and so much more pleasant, than the scared little kitten bullied at school.

« Tricia, we’re going home. »

She looked up at the annoying voice of her older brother. He was pissed off.

« You’ve lost again ? »

« Not your business. »

She took advantage of the fact that Craig was holding his phone in one hand and Tweek’s hand in the other to flip him off. He narrowed his eyes at her, but decided to ignore her in favor of Tweek. He then said goodbye to his boyfriend, and started to head home without bothering to check if she was following.

Tricia lifted an eyebrow, as she noticed all the older boys from the park had started to gather their younger siblings, and go home. But her sweet voice was even as ever as she stated. « Tweek isn’t coming with us. »

« How clever you are. »

« What’s up with you all ? Do you have another of your « secret business » going on ? »

« Again, not your business. »

She was tempted to flip him off again, but she had his back to her. She bit her lip, frowning slightly as she played her ultimate card. She always got what she wanted.

« If you don’t tell me what is happening, I will tell the parents you are going out with Tweek tonight. »

Craig almost stopped in his track, but resumed his pace as he tried to keep his mask on.

« I’m hanging out with the others, tonight. We’re playing a game. Nothing to do with you, midget, so leave me the fuck alone. »

« Where are you going ? And I'm not a midget » Tricia insisted, taking pleasure in annoying her big brother.

« You're little and you're a rehead. You totally are. »

« Craig ! »

« Tricia, if you play the bitch card to the parents, I’ll play the gay card. »

There was nothing to respond to that. She huffed, as he gave her a double flip off. She didn’t care. It wasn't like Craig and his friends were worth of a company, anyway.

* * *

Karen hadn’t gone to school in a week.

She had tried several times, though. But every time she attempted to take the way leading to school, the laughters and voices echoed and spiraled through her head like witches, until she vomited. She had tried to convince herself that she could do it, that she should be strong, of not for herself, then for Kenny, who wouldn’t like to see her that way.

It didn’t really work, though.

She spent most of her time repeatedly checking her and Kenny’s hiding places throughout Sodosopa, but didn’t dare to explore a bit more, as Kenny always told her how dangerous this part of the town was. She remembered how terrified her mom had been when she had picked up a syringe that had somehow ended in their backyard. When she was tired of walking, she took care of Mr. Possy, patiently waiting for his owner to come back. Karen and the possum had never gotten along, despite Kenny’s desperate attempts to make them like each other. But knowing how much Kenny cared about this animal, she made an effort.

The only time she stepped out of their part of town, was when her Guardian Angel had some time for her. Their time together was like a little bubble, surrounding Karen and keeping her out of any harm. She was safe with him. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay with her too often.

The house was bleak and coarse in the cold day light. She hated staying in, anyway. She was scared, when her parents fought, which happened on a daily basis. The atmosphere was heavy lately, and Karen wasn’t sure if it was only how she felt because of Kenny’s disappearance, or if it was because of her mother’s sad and hurt look whenever her eyes landed on the anorak Karen was now wearing constantly.

The possum kept growling at her while she was feeding him, and almost bit her fingers in the process, but she didn’t care, as she was thinking about her Guardian Angel.

He was apparently very busy trying to bring her brother back, which worried her a lot. Mysterion was so capable, yet she found he appeared more stressed and lost as the days passed by. But he always refused her help, faking a smile and a confident posture anytime she asked about Kenny. “Don’t worry for him ! He is tough, and I’m sure that there is a good reason to why he cannot come back. But I swear, Karen, your brother will be back !”

She trusted her guardian angel. She knew that she could count on him, always, maybe even more than she could count on Kenny. After all, Kenny was just a silly little boy, while Mysterion was a well-known superhero with strange abilities. But, everything he did was hidden from her, and lately, she had noticed a disturbing aura when she was near him. She couldn’t help but feel concerned, especially since Kenny was the only thing she could focus on. She was completely stuck, too weak to be a normal little girl or a superhero’s assistant. She felt like all she could do was wait, and it was driving her insane.

From the backyard, through the possum’s growling and the faint sound of her parents shouting, she deciphered the sound of a vigorous knocking at her front door. Hopeful, she hurried on her feet to answer it.

Her smile deflated when standing on the porch was another blond than the one she was hoping to see.

« Oh. Hey, Tweek. »

The shaking blond was looking around suspiciously. He was alone, and there was no hint of Craig nearby, which disappointed her. Though everyone in town knew her as the sweetest little girl, it was very different when it came to her behaviour with Tweek. She had always had conflcited feelings about him, and she knew it was mostly because he was dating the boy Karen might have a little crush on. Yet, Tweek seemed a bit off today, and she felt a familiar sense of discomfort in his presence that had nothing to do with her usual jealousy.

Since he didn’t say anything since she had open the door, Karen inquired. « Is there something you want ? »

Tweek jumped at the sound of her voice, as if he hadn’t noticed her standing there. He then asked, through ever gritted teeth «Ngh, isKennythere ? »

« No. What do you need him for ? » replied Karen, whose interest perked back up at the mention of her brother.

Tweek’s left eye twitched, and he shivered through his usual trembling, probably because of the sudden cold wind that blew right past them. Karen tightened a bit her brother’s parka around herself. « Haven’t seen him in a while. Thoughtitwasweird. He didn’t answer when I texted him aboutthedelivery. »

« Oh, right, the delivery. Wait a minute. »

She left the door ajar, and went to get the key opening the little shack next to the house. When she came back, she noticed Tweek glancing all over the room, scanning as if he were looking for something. Kenny always hated when someone was paying too much attention to the house. Karen herself felt like every flaw, every crack and holes littering the walls suddenly became unbearably obvious, and she felt self-conscious about it. Irritated, Karen didn’t even try to stop herself from forcing a cough out of her throat to get his attention, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrows furrowed. « Hey. What are you doing ? »

« Nothing, gah ! Didn’tmeantoberude ! I’m just… Do you know what happened to your brother ? » sheepishly asked Tweek, retreating on the porch of the house.

« He is gone for awhile, » calmly replied Karen. « I didn’t remember you being a close friend of his. Why do you ask, do you _know_ anything ? »

« What ?! No, ack ! No, I, ack, I justthoughtitwasweird. Kenny’s just… special you know. I don’t mean that in a bad way ! But… nevermind, just thought it would be polite to ask. You’re his sister, and that’s his home, so… » Tweek tried to shrug casually, though the motion looked weird combined with his shaking. As the little girl kept staring intently at him, he started to panic a little more. “Look ! I just sent a text to Kenny and, heneveransweredme ! I found it odd ! He knows I always text him on the delivery day, because I want to make sure it is ready as, ack ! I really hate coming over this part of town, I was just scared something happened to him and that maybe I came here for nothing ! Stoplookingatmelikethat !”

Karen looked him up and down, defiant, then extended the key towards him. « ‘Kay. See you next week, then. »

Tweek seemed relieved as he took the key and started to head to the shack, saying goodbye over his shoulder. Karen was about to close the door, when she realized why the feeling she had in Tweek’s presence was so familiar. The boy seemed to share the same aura as her Guardian Angel.

Distraught, Karen closed the door, thoughts spiraling within her head.

* * *

It had been a week, and for him, nothing had changed.

Kenny didn’t know what it was that had changed his curse, but he certainly hated the way it evolved. Nobody noticed him, except for Karen. Nobody worried about him, except for Karen. And the worst part of it all, was that he witnesses directly how little all the people he held close in his heart actually cared about him.

He was hurt, he was angry, and he was at a loss on what to do to make everything stop.

He had tried several things in order to come back to normal. He had mostly tried different way to kill himself, as it was the only technique he knew could reset the curse, as he usually became invisible after dying. He knew that in most cases, he became visible again randomly, as if he was fading back into reality after watching it from afar for a while, but he thought that since it worked one way, it could possibly work the other way around. But so far, despite his many deaths, he was still invisible, so he was now trying another tactic : avoid death at any cost to see if he would eventually be visible again. He had observed that the longest he took to die, the longest it needed for him to be back alive, so he hoped that these many deaths didn’t accumulate and extend the amount time he would spend being invisible. He wasn’t sure any logic could help him, but he couldn’t help himself but consider most possibilities. His curse was just weird, anyway, it never seemed to work consistently.

He had even examined the weird note and card he had found a week ago, in U-stor-it. Not only he still didn’t have his game back, but these items had been of no use for him. He had inspected the card closely, even warmed it with a lighter in case it used invisible ink, but it had stayed as blank as ever. No information on his cards. Pure waste of time.

But tonight, was a night meant for fun. All the superheroes were invited at the base to celebrate the elaboration of a new training ground, especially for the superhero game. He had heard Stan talk about it to Kyle at the bus stop, and according to him, it was even better than the one Cartman had in his backyard before for their fantasy game. Kenny had really liked the training ground back then, but as he was supposed to be delicate Princess, he didn’t really enjoy it as much as other fighters did. As Mysterion, though, he could go wild on the battlefield: he was very aware that he was the best. Except maybe for Mint-berry-crunch, as he was the other one having real superpowers, but he was busy discovering the truth about his past, so screw him.

Kenny still hadn’t digest that the Cthulhu arc had nothing to do with him, and that he was left with no answers from his own supernatural characteristics. He felt like he had been robbed.

He shook those thoughts away as he snuck into Token’s, in order to assist to the big event. Though he knew he was still invisible, he couldn’t help but deeply wanting to see the result of their hard work. Dr. Timothy, Tupperware and Toolshed had been working on this all week, and it was finally in front of their eyes : the super training ground for their secret heroes activities. Makeshift mannequins were occupying the back of Token’s garden, while they had made some installations in the trees surrounding the Black’s property for parkour. Mysterion was really excited, combat and parkour were really his forte and his favorite aspect in training.

The place looked so cool !

But as he was peacefully enjoying this sight, the piercing voice of Cartman unfortunately reached his ears. “Hey, fags ! Get a room, or go for a fight now, I’m tired of your constant whining.”

The whole group turn to see an annoyed Cartman staring down the apparently furious most popular couple in South Park. Kenny payed a bit more attention. These two were practically tied together, to the point that it almost seemed painful to ever dare to separated their permanently linked hands. Yet, Craig had his hands in the pocket of his jeans, wearing the slightest frown over a closed-off expression, while Tweek had crossed his arms over his chest, killing Cartman with the fire in his eyes. Surprisingly, Tweek seemed to be the angriest out of them all. His usual shaking had stopped, and his words were perfectly articulated as he warned:“Shut the fuck up, fatass ! Don’t even dare to open your goddamn mouth one more time or I swear I’ll fucking beat you down !”

This got the few who were still admiring the new addition to their game. Since he was usually caring, when he wasn’t busy being paranoid, Kenny had forgotten that Tweek was also a savage at times, and as he briefly glanced at everybody's shocked face, he wasn't the only one.

Kenny unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself as the temperature abruptly dropped. Now that he thought about it, he remembered he had noticed Tweek and Craig were dissipated, tonight. Throughout their game, the meeting, and even now, they had been whispering to each other, exchanging back and forth barely contained arguments, not even trying to pretend they were paying attention to what was going on around them. He had no idea of why they were fighting, but it seemed pretty serious. When Tweek and Craig fought, it was always serious anyways. Out of the corner of his eyes, Mysterion saw that New Kid had pulled their phone out to record the imminent fight. Craig had just rolled his eyes and ignored Cartman’s intervention, but Tweek seemed ready to throw a punch or two at the most infuriating kid in South Park.

“Whatever you say, fag. I just can’t stand yours and your little boyfriend’s comedy. I’m here to play superheroes, not to watch some gay shitty drama. That’s lame.”

Snow started to fall, and the air felt uncomfortably electric. Kenny looked up at the sky, confused. They were in June, a few days away from summer break, and though Colorado wasn’t known for having a hot and sunny summer, snow still seemed a bit exaggerated.

He wasn’t the only one feeling uncomfortable though, as the others were shifting back and forth between the sky above them and the fight that was soon to happen in front of them. Only Tweek and Cartman ignored everything and everyone, solely focused on each other, waiting for the other to surrender to their domination.

“Cartman. I swear. Shut up,” intervened Craig, perfectly aware of his boyfriend's mood. But as his monotone was half convinced, it didn’t really have the expected effect.

Cartman just had the time to have a bitter laugh and open his mouth, petty expression already on, before Tweek completely snapped.

With a shout out of pure rage, that nobody except Craig seemed to understand, Tweek pulled his fist back, ready to hit Cartman. Only, something cold and solid emerged out of his gloved hand. In a split second, his face went from anger, to surprise, to horror, as the moist air of South Park condensed and solidified around Tweek’s hand, up to Cartman’s skin, freezing the latter in place.

Snow stilled, floating in the air. The weather calmed down. The electric atmosphere dropped, replaced by a dead silence. Tweek was standing still, looking blankly at the ice that had seemingly come out of him, uncomprehendingly. No one dared to breathe, as nobody understood.

They were just playing a game, right ? How was this even possible ?

All of the kids looked worriedly at each other, seeking explanation or comfort, trying to understand what was going on. Craig didn’t dare to touch Tweek, his hand hovering over the other’s shoulder, too afraid to startle him. Mysterion got closer to Cartman, examining his frozen features, and touching the material he was trapped in. Small bit of iced water melted at the contact of his hand, cold biting his skin through his gloves, as ordinary ice would’ve.

Only Kyle seemed to find a sense of comfort in the current situation, as he let out a deep sigh and declared. “Well… Not gonna lie, I like him a lot better that way.”

At those words, the snow suddenly dropped to the ground and covered them. A long, panicked, scream escaped Tweek’s throat.


	3. Tweek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took so long, but I was really disappointed in what I did for chapter two, so I took too much time to edit this chapter. I think it's actually decent now. I am still writing this story, I'm just a sloth. I also edited the last chapter twice, not drastic changes, just checked my mistakes and tried to make it more coherent with this one.
> 
> Also, you may have noticed that I changed the title and summary. It's simply because this is going to be structured according to a few mini-adventures, so I decided to make a serie, and each story will be one of these adventures. I may change the summary again, because I don't like it. I globally know how everything is supposed to link together though, it just takes me a long time to write. 
> 
> So this adventure also focuses on Tweek, but don't worry, it still serves Kenny's global story. I don't know if this makes sense, but I hope so. I'm a messy sloth, and I should probably rename after that.

It was warm, beside the fireplace of the Black’s manor, and Kenny couldn’t help but appreciate the luxury and the softness of everything surrounding him. Even the floor he was sitting on, covered by a thick carpet, was more comfortable than his own bed. Every part of the room was intricately and tastefully decorated, without being obnoxious. Everything seemed balanced, everything looked perfect, and thinking about the shed the McCormicks called home, Kenny couldn’t help the bit of jealousy rising in his chest.

He glanced at Cartman’s frozen figure, forgotten in front of the fireplace. The other kids had split in small groups all around the room, and ironically, the quietest place was, for once, the one where Cartman was.

Chasing his jealousy away, Mysterion decided to focus on the slowly growing pool at the bottom of Cartland feet. The ice covering him seemed pretty thick, and was taking its time to melt and slide to the floor. Mysterion wondered briefly if at some point, the snow would create enough water to extinguish the fire. For some reason, a big part of Kenny in him found the situation very funny.

The noises of everyone around him were distracting, tough. Token was repeating to Clyde just how grateful he was that his parents were out for dinner tonight. Because he was almost certain they wouldn’t have liked to see their property being covered in snow, when the rest of the neighborhood had a decent weather. Nor seeing a frozen Cartman, abandoned by the fireplace, in a room filled with the theories of an overly excited group of children.

In a corner, Kyle and Stan were quietly talking with each other, glancing every now and then in Cartman’s direction. They were probably wondering if they should show a bit more concern for him, considering he was technically in their circle of friends. Indecisive, they stayed a bit away from everyone. From the opposite side of the room, Wendy and the New Kid were side by side, apparently working on their project they still hadn’t tell the group about. Since Wendy had been kind of admitted in the franchise, the two of them had been undividable, despite Douchebag’s lack of communication.

For a split minute, Mysterion felt sorry for Cartman. Despite everything, and though Kenny couldn’t say he actually _liked_ Eric, he still felt some kind of loyalty for him. Cartman had always teased him, using him as a scapegoat, but much like he did with anyone else. Yet, he had the feeling that they had a special relationship with Cartman. He couldn’t say Cartman liked them, either. But maybe the reason Cartman was so obsessed with tagging along with them was because they were the only ones who offered him a bit of resistance. Kyle would fight his ideas constantly. Stan didn’t give a shit whenever Cartman opened his mouth. And Kenny, in particular wasn’t afraid by him, at all. He still hoped for Tweek that Cartman wouldn’t remember the incident, though, for he wasn’t sure the twitchy blond was aware of how dangerous Eric could actually be.

Mysterion lifted his eyes from his kind of friend, to check on the troublemaker of the day. In the center of the room, Token had played the role of the mom friend. He had sat Tweek on one of the comfy armchair of his living room, wrapped him in blanket, and given him his thermos of coffee. Beside him, Craig was speaking soothingly, rubbing his hands in his own, in vain. He knew his boyfriend wasn’t listening to him. Knitted eyebrows furrowed in confusion, eyes twitching and watching everywhere without seeing anything, they could almost see the gears moving inside Tweek’s head. Craig sighed. Sometimes, he wished everything with Tweek wasn’t so damn complicated.

Tweek was anxiously glancing around the room, trying to spot the one that had pulled that cruel prank on him. Because there was no other way this could have happened. Craig was holding his trembling shoulders, trying to soothe him with gentle words.

But everything was too fast inside Tweek’s mind, and he was too caught up in his paranoia to concentrate on anything else but the obsession occupying his brain. Who would have done this ?

It must have taken time, to do a trick as elaborated as this. He himself had thought for a second that he actually had frozen Cartman in place. It must also be someone who was close to Cartman, to have him as a partner in crime. And there was only one person who had both been missing for a while, and was in Cartman’s circle of friend. Tweek’s shudders became one of anger, has he scanned the room, looking for the absent culprit.

When he thought he had put his relationship in danger worrying about the guy, while this bastard was actually plotting against him…

“Kenny ! If it’s you who did this, reveal yourself ! It’s not funny anymore!”

The chit-chat of the room stopped, silence waiting for the freak show to unfold in front of them.

Kyle, who had stopped looking guiltily at Cartman at the outburst, looked at him blankly. “Kenny is not even here, Tweek.”

But Tweek was too deep in his own reasoning now, exasperated that he was the only one seeing the truth “Don’t you find it odd that he’s not even here for his favorite game ?”

Stan shrugged, “Maybe he’s sick.” Tweek rolled his eyes, as an annoyed noise escaped his throat.

“Tweek, you’re being delusional again,” said Craig.

Tweek shrugged out of his hold and turned back to him with angry tears in his eyes “But why when I’m worried do I always have to be delusional ? Why am I the only one to think Kenny is beyond odd ? I fucking told you I had informations, man! And he just seemingly disappeared out of nowhere !”

Kenny’s attention perked up at this. Tweek had informations? About him ? Enthusiastic, he left Cartman by himself, and took advantage of his invisibility to get closer to South Park’s annoyingly perfect couple. Was it possible that Tweek had some keys he was missing?

If that was the case, he hoped he could persuade the distrustful blonde that he had nothing to do with random ice powers.

“Tweek, I know. I know, because we’ve talked about nothing but this the past few days or so. Just stop, I’m tired of it! Why do you care so much about him anyway ? You like him or what ?” asked Craig, anger barely seeping through his voice. Kenny scrunched his nose up. A part of him was upset they had fought because of him, but on another end…

It felt so good to be finally acknowledged.

Tweek threw his arms in the air, the blanket previously wrapped around him falling on the armchair as he stood up. The material looked stiff and odd, standing out as if it radiated static electricity. “Don’t be ridiculous ! Why can’t you just _listen_ to me for once !”

A fierce thunder cracked on the roof just above, and the lights vacillated. The aura surrounding Tweek was electric. The kids took a step back, but the blonde boy didn’t seem to notice how the mood had shifted around him. His eyes were solely focused on Craig, as another thunder struck the roof, and droplets of frozen water pounded against the windows. Craig put his arms up in defense at the sight of anger floating deep within Tweek’s eyes. “Whoah, ok, calm down. Calm down.” He scanned his boyfriend’s stare with his own, trying to catch the shift in it proving that Tweek was back to reason.

As the silence tensed, Token glanced worriedly at the clock through the open door of his kitchen, before he spoke. “Guys. You should think about going back home. It’s starting to be late, and I don’t want my parents to see you all.”

“Dude, really ?” asked Clyde. “It’s pouring outside. Don’t force me to walk under freezing water, please !”

Token rolled his eyes, but soon realized that pretty much everyone seemed to share Clyde’s opinion. He stated, collected and firm. “Tweek, Craig, Jimmy and Clyde will stay at my place tonight. Can the rest of you guys go back home now ?”

“What about Cartman ?” asked Kyle, reluctant to go outside due to his short-sleeved costume.

Token turned to the frozen block still lying in the middle of the room. “Right. I guess Cartman can stay, too. Now, out of my sight, please.” A collection of grumbles welcomed him, but soon everyone was out. Token, Clyde and Jimmy were about to go upstairs, until Craig interrupted them. “Where are you going, Tweek ?”

“Home.”

“Dude,” intervened Clyde. “Tonight has been pretty intense. You should probably stay with us, it’s pretty much hell outside right now.”

“Clyde’s right, T-T-Tweek. It’s our last day of school. Come and cele- cele- celebrate with us. Everything will be more clear, to-tomorrow.”

Tweek seemed to consider it a little, but he finally frowned and shook his head. “Thanks guys, but... I think I need some time alone. I’m sorry, I’m just a bit confused, lately. I’ll be ok, I promise.”

“I come with you,” immediately said Craig.

Tweek shrugged, but still offered a small smile. The three other members of the group glanced at each other as they stared at them leaving. Then Clyde let out a shocked gasp. “Oh man ! How are you going to explain the presence of a giant ice cube in your living room ?”

Token shrugged, and Kenny contemplated whether he should follow Tweek or not. Just like Clyde, the idea of standing for even a minute under cold rain didn’t sound too appealing to him. Scowling, he pulled his hood further on his forehead, thankful he had chosen a waterproof material for his mantle.

Then, he took a deep breath, and stepped out in the threatening night.

* * *

After Tweek’s visit, Karen was in a strange state of mind.

It was as if suddenly, everything had become too real. Her little bubble of comfort, where her only (yet very serious) worry was to avoid school, while she spent time awkwardly bonding with a possum who disliked her in her backyard, had shattered. Since last week, she had been the only one to acknowledge there was any change in her daily life. Someone missing. But then, Tweek had to come and tear her away from her fantasy, where she simply had to wait for her brother to come back.

Now though, she just had the confirmation, from someone else, that her brother was _indeed_ missing. And that someone had no gain in lying and pretending he was concerned, right ? She wasn’t Tweek’s biggest fan, but for once, his intervention had been somewhat useful to her. There was another one concerned, another one who knew. She couldn’t wait to share this little knowledge with Mysterion.

But then, what was she going to do ? She couldn’t stay locked at home, waiting, for the rest of her life ?

And what if Mysterion never actually found him?

Karen sighed, and realizing she was thirsty, she took advantage of the fact her parents’ arguing had stopped to go have a glass of mildly sane water. Her father wasn’t home, she realized, as she saw her mother silently glaring at the silent TV in the living room. Karen bowed her head, on the tip of her toes, trying to hide herself behind her brother’s parka. But she got spotted on her way back, as Carol hook her glazing eyes on her, arms stretched out, waiting for her baby girl to come and sit in her lap.

Karen, not wanting to hurt her mother, obliged, despite her discomfort. She loved her mother dearly, but… When she was distraught, Carol had the habit of taking comfort in her children’s arms. Karen didn’t know how to react to this, except by letting herself being held and listening to all the mute words carefully concealed inside the walls of the house.

Carol smiled softly at Karen’s approach, and she securely wrapped her arms around her petite form. She gave a nasty stare at the orange parka, which mixed the sweet smell of her daughter with the one of death that had always belonged to Kenny. “I don’t like this jacket on you,” she said. “It doesn’t suit you.” Karen shrugged, while returning the embrace. Karen liked the jacket. It was warm, and the bright color reminded her of Kenny’s fiery spirit. She didn’t need to be like herself, anyway, and she was fine suiting Kenny.

A tense silence filled the room. The whole weight of what Carol refused to acknowledge, of what they couldn’t talk, seeped through every crack and hole of the fragile building, letting their bodies vulnerable to a cold and heavy exposure. Carol let out a trembling sigh, holding her daughter tighter.

She remembered when all of her children were babies. It had started off well, with Kevin’s birth. He had been a big, beautiful baby, a bit stressed maybe, but he was her first. Her memories of him as a baby were a bit blurry, though. She hadn’t truly planned to be pregnant, and it had been too hard for her to cut out of the substances coursing throughout her body at the time. Despite that, Kevin was born chubby, healthy, and though he had quickly lost some of his extra weight, he still had his strong build. Carol just wasn’t sure if the all too pretty images she had of him were real or beautified by the substances. She preferred to think Kevin used to be that beautiful, rosy baby, which haunted her memory, especially when the young man he was becoming was so dull yet raw.

She had been more prepared, for Kenny, though she wasn’t exactly clean at the time. Unfortunately, his birth had been complicated. Kenny was born thin, a little below average size, and it had taken a few years for his state to stabilize. She remembered how Stuart had worried on how to pay the hospital bills, and how she had cherished every moment she spent with him, fearing he’d slip away in a second. Kenny had had several health issues throughout the years, but for some reason, he had always managed to live through. Carol had memories of her brushing his golden hair, when he was little, and how cheerful and full of life he had always been, even though he was a bit of a troublemaker and a daredevil. She also recalled how jealous Kevin had been of the extra attention his baby brother had, similar to the one Kenny himself had when Karen was born.

Finally, she had her little princess, her little bundle of joy and sweetness. Karen. A little girl, almost too good, too kind, for the harsh conditions she had to live in.

Nowadays, Kevin’s stress had turned into utter lack of interest, and Kenny had put all of his joy and love into the little sister he had been first so reluctant to have, neglecting himself in the process. Somehow, she had failed them both, and she knew it was her fault. Karen was now the only source of hope, the growing flame she and Kenny were so carefully protecting from the wind constantly blown by their father’s pessimism.

There were times Carol wished she separated from him, taking her children away from this awful place full of awful people. But then she remembered how young and helpless she had been, alone in the street, until this slightly older man, who was maybe less of a shitty asshole than the others, had offered her a drink and some kind of a roof above her head. He then had offered other things, and Carol didn’t feel much stronger now. She depended on him for the drug, for the house, but also for the kind of sick and desperate love they still felt for each other.

But the only thing good, all the good she was capable of, was here, within her arms, and that’s what she told herself over and over while inhaling Karen’s scent. She, and her brothers, that’s what Stuart and her had ever been able to create. They were her only pride, her only joy, her only strength. If only her two sons still looked at her as if she were their heroin…

Karen let herself be pulled on her mother’s lap, putting her glass of water on the table, waiting for it to be over. She closed her eyes, thinking of how her Guardian Angel would disapprove this. She opened them, and almost saw him standing in the middle of the room, eyebrows furrowed, glaring at the mother holding desperately onto her only daughter. She held his imaginary stare. She knew how wary Mysterion was of her mother, but she couldn’t agree with him on this point. Her mother was the only one who needed her.

“I’m going to bed,” she whispered to her mother. Carol nodded, pulled away, and slurred, while holding her at arm length “Promise me that you’ll always be my baby, Karen. And know that I’ll always love you.” Karen patted her arm comfortingly, feeling unexplainably embarrassed.

She made sure Carol wasn’t watching her, and slipped into Kenny’s room. It was usually the place she’d meet up with Mysterion. They would talk about Kenny, how far Mysterion had advanced today, if Karen was ok, before reassuring each other and going to bed. Sometimes, she doubted herself, and wondered if Mysterion was just the materialization of her own worries, a creature made by her imagination to help her whenever she felt distressed. Then, she’d remember how people used to talk about him, and how he had beaten that girl in the other school, and how he effortlessly climbed the walls. Karen would have never been able to do that, if he hadn’t been real.

And there were rare times, like this one, where he wasn’t there when she needed him to be.

She bit her lip. Mysterion was always so busy… And he had so many enemies, too. She knew he was trying his best, but Karen felt like it was already too late, that the more minutes Kenny was away from home, the less chances they had to find him. It was always like that, in stories, wasn’t it ? If only Mysterion let her be of any help… At least, she wouldn’t feel so guilty anymore.

When she entered her room, Kevin flashed her a toothy grin, cutting her from her thoughts. The sight was rare enough for Karen to smile back. “Had a nice day ?” she asked. Kevin shrugged, and pulled his old DS out from underneath his mattress. “Had to be a nice day when it’s the last of school.” Karen’s eyes widened at the sound of her brother’s voice. Wow. She hadn’t expected a reply.

The last day of school… This meant that all the kids would be idly hanging out all around South Park for the months to come. So, being out of the little territory she shared with Kenny and Kevin was out of the question. With Kenny gone, would they still go frog hunting near Stark’s Pond, or building shacks and tower defenses within Sodosopa’s ruins ? Or maybe…

Karen’s eyes lit up, as she looked up at her oldest brother in awe. Kevin didn’t make any move, but seeing he was in an exceptionally good mood, she gave it a try. “Hey ! Do you have anything planned for the holidays ?”

Kevin shrugged, barely paying attention, but Karen didn’t deflated. “’Cause, if you don’t… I was kind of wondering…” She was stumbling upon her words, but Kevin didn’t seem to pay much attention to what she was saying, anyway. “Well… I kind of wanted to go and look for Kenny, this summer. And I was wondering if you would accompany me ?”

That last sentence came out as a question, as Kevin lifted an eyebrow. So, he was listening. But as he kept laying on his DS without answering, Karen understood she wouldn’t find an ally in her brother.

She sighed, and pulled the covers up to her chin, facing away from her brother so she was not disturbed by the DS’s light. She was thinking quickly. What if she teamed up with Tweek, convinced Mysterion to let them join in, so they could find her brother ? She knew Mysterion would disapprove this, but maybe she could be useful ? She didn’t really know Kenny’s friends, but maybe she could come closer to them, and have a few information? Or ask Tweek to do so ? He had seemed so worried… Moreover, everyone knew Mysterion in town, some were wary of him, but who would pay attention to her ? She’d have to find a disguise, though, to avoid the girls who where messing with her…

She stayed up all night, thinking about foolish reasons why Kenny was away, and having even more foolish plans on how to get him back, mind lulled by the chaotic wind outside.

* * *

Tricia was peacefully enjoying some cartoons on the TV, while her mother was making breakfast in the kitchen. The weather was nice, it was officially the first day of summer break, and so far everything was perfect.

But then, Craig entered in the living room, and slumped next to her on the couch, not even greeting her with his middle finger. Tricia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, focusing on the Rainbow Pony show on the TV.

They sat there quietly for a while, until Tricia, surprised her brother still hadn’t been bitchy to her since he came into the room, decided to look at him a little closer.

The other seemed to be sulking, for some reason, and was glancing at his phone every now and then, as if he was waiting for something. Immediately understanding the problem, Tricia decided to annoy him, as a dutiful little sister. “What’s with the mood, dickhead ?”

Craig scowled and flipped her off. She smiled, and continue. “Something tells me that Tweeeek is on your mind” she sang-song, “and that there is trouble in paradise.”

“Fuck off, Tricia,” replied Craig in his monotone.

“Craig ! Language!” called their mother out from the kitchen. Craig rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the mischievous stare of his little sister.

“I didn’t know you were so interested in Rainbow Pony. It makes sense though, since you’re gay and all. It’s pretty gay.”

Craig looked offended, then sighed in annoyance when he realised what he had been staring at for fifteen minutes. He replied, his voice barely betraying his anger. “I’m waiting for it to finish so I can watch Red Racer, is all.”

Thomas was the last to go down the stairs. He smiled at his children, who for once seemed to be gently watching a show together instead of having a petty bickering. He then joined his wife in the kitchen, and helped to set the table. Tricia waited for him to be out of earshot to continue her little game.

“Huh-huh. You were totally not being distracted because you were waiting for your boyfriend to text you, since you weren’t glancing at your phone every five seconds.”

“I was not.”

“You were.”

“And why would this text have to be from Tweek, anyway?”

“Because you wouldn’t even care if someone else was to send you something. Tweek is litteraly the only one in your contacts to even have a ringtone.”

“For your information, I’m supposed to hang out with Clyde and the guys this afternoon. And it’s not because you don’t have a ring tone on my phone, because I don’t _want_ to be bothered with you, that my other contacts don’t, stupid.”

Tricia frowned and was about to reply, but Laura stepped into the room to tell them breakfast was ready. Tricia stared daggers at Craig, who didn’t give a fuck, as they joined their parents and sat at the kitchen table

“Mom. Craig’s being a petty bitch,” immediately complained Tricia, seeking for someone else to notice Craig’s mood and dig informations out of him.

“Mom,” immediately shot back Craig. “Tricia’s being an annoying piece of shit.”

Thomas groaned and Laura, who wasn’t enjoying the fact that the little time she could spend at home was always ruined by her children constant bickering, growled. “Don’t get started, you two. It’s only the first day and you are already at each other’s throat. You’ll have all the time to do so when I’ll be working, so for now, shut your mouths and pretend to be happy with each other. Understood ?”

Both his children flipped her off and she and Thomas returned the gesture, for good measure. At least, the discussion was closed.

Laura started to worry, though, when she came back from work for lunch break and a certain blond was missing. “Tweek isn’t coming to play, today ?” Craig had simply shrugged, phone still tightly held in his grasp, only sign betraying his internal turmoils. “No. We’re hanging out at Token’s today. He needed some help with something, and it was kinda our fault, so…”

Laura scolded “You didn’t do anything stupid, did you ? I know you don’t really care about being pleasant or polite, but the Blacks are really nice people, I don’t want you to cause any damage in their house!” Craig hid a small smirk, remaining neutral as ever. “I’m not the one who caused any damage, mom. Don’t worry.”

Laura frowned, but she didn’t have much time at lunch so she didn’t inquire any further.

Craig acted a bit more like himself, when she came home in the evening. He was such in a great mood, actually, that he agreed with his sister’s proposition that they watch a movie together before going to bed tonight. Laura and Thomas were too happy to witness such a sweet interaction between the siblings, and knowing it wouldn’t last very long, they tagged along too. Everyone was sitting on the couch, watching one of the many family movies Tricia was passionate about, when the phone in the living room rang.

“Who the fuck would call so late ?” growled Thomas. Laura put an appeasing hand on one of his broad shoulders. “Don’t sweat. Just let it ring. Anyone who’s calling should get tired of it, and if it was important, they’ll leave a message.” And indeed, after a few ringing into the void, the phone finally shut off.

But ten minutes later, the phone rang again, and again yet another ten minutes later, when it met no answers. Tricia put the movie on pause, waiting. Fearing her husband would crush the device, Laura stood up to answer it, irritated at anyone who had the indecency to call so late at night when she was having a rare good time with her family.

“What do you want ?” she said, a bit too aggressively. Tricia saw her face go to surprise, then worry, as she glanced back towards them, unsure. “Mr. Tweak ? It’s okay, you are not disturbing me at all. What can I do for you ?” Another pause. “Tweek ? No, I haven’t seen him today. Craig told me they went to their friend Token this afternoon, have you called there ?” Laura frowned in the direction of her son, who, at the mention of Tweek had immediately gone to his phone. “You did ? Wait a minute, I’ll ask my son.” She gestured to Craig to come over, and the boy had never obeyed an order faster before.

Laura covered the phone’s speaker with her hand and kneel to be eye to eye level with her son, attempting to make their conversation more private despite Tricia’s prying ears. “Sweetheart, do you have any idea where your boyfriend is ? He didn’t come home tonight. He was with you at Token’s, right ?” Craig nodded, his voice dropping down to a whisper. “Yes, we went there together. We played for awhile, but then he said he had to go help at the coffee shop, and he told me to stay and play with the others. We were supposed to have a sleepover, but the weather started to look very bad, so… You think something happened to him ?”

Laura ruffled her son’s hair reassuringly, before standing back up and uncovering the speaker. Craig stayed still, watching her intently, trying to understand the part of the conversation he couldn’t hear, to what extend this was serious.

Tricia regretted a little her earlier teasing, now that she could see how affected her usually stoic brother was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, finally updated ! I'm sorry I'm taking so long. I rewrote this so many times, but finally, I managed to write it so that it made sense.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, feel free to let a review if that's the case, or to help me improve. I'm always happy to have any feedback ! See you, hopefully, for the next chapter.


	4. Wanderings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm finally back at this fic !  
> I'm glad I finally had time to write. I actually liked writing this one a lot so I hope you'll enjoy it as well.  
> Also, I don't thingk the language here is any worse than the show's, but it is still pretty bad on some parts of this particular chapter, so be warned.  
> Centered solely on Karen and Tricia, this time...

Tricia wasn’t surprised in the slightest when she found her brother crouching on top of the stairs, eavesdropping the conversation bellow. Their father had interrupted their movie and calmly instructed them to go to bed, but the Tweak’s arrival had been noisy enough to drag the kids out of their rooms. Tricia tiptoed until she was behind Craig, and tucked her chin on his shoulder, trying to spy on the living room without being seen. Craig didn’t even think to shrug her off, absorbed in some intense typing on his phone. “What did I miss ?” she asked softly, while eyeing the group chat entitled “Coon and Friends”. Realizing she was there, Craig locked his phone and tilted his head towards her to answer. “Not much. Mom and Dad are trying to be polite, but they can’t stand how the Tweaks fake to be upset.”

“What do you mean ?” asked Tricia, raising her eyebrow. She definitely wasn’t fond of Tweek’s parents (and, probably, no one in South Park could bear their overly wide grins and sugar sweet voices), but she thought they cared for Tweek, in their own, bizarre way.

“Just look,” he said, sounding uninterested. She leaned further over him, a hand on his shoulder to stop her from falling, peeking on the scenery bellow.

The Tweaks were sitting on the couch, while the Tuckers had dragged chairs from the kitchen table to face them. Helen was wiping invisible tears from her eyes, while Richard solemnly kept a hand on her shoulder. “Well, I guess they try to fit what is expected of them. It’s not like they’re close to our parents or anything, so, you know…”

Craig had a humorless snort. “I hate the way they do it. Shouldn’t Tweek’s situation matter more than keeping up appearances? They’re so fake, all the time, they could as well be made of glass.”

Tricia shrugged. “You know they care. Well, I guess they do.”

“I just wish the mere sight of them wasn’t so _infuriating_ ,” Craig replied, going back to his phone now that his sister was distracted.

Tricia strained her earing, but she could barely decipher the adults’ whispers. She impatiently stomped her foot, until Craig caught her ankle, almost making her lose her balance. She glared at him, but his tone was icy when he commanded. “Stop. You’ll get us caught”. Tricia rolled her eyes at him, but stopped nonetheless.

Craig’s bones cracked when he stood up. He’d been crouching for too long, and he shook his legs out a little bit to awake them from their immobility. He then headed to his room, and Tricia inquired, surprised “The hell are you going ?”

“Bed. We can’t hear a thing anyway. Waste of time.” Hesitating, Tricia glanced between the discussion downstairs and Craig’s room. As after a minute a soft, almost unnoticeable, thud could be heard from outside, she finally abandoned her spot on top of the stairs to glue her ear to Craig’s room. As there wasn’t any sound, she slowly turned the handle of the door to open it, to see if Craig was _really_ just sleeping in his bed. A smirk graced her lips when a cold breeze hit her from her brother’s opened window, accompanied with the sight of an empty bed. She knew him too well.

And she was more than ready to join in for his ride.

She went to take her coat in a room, came back to Craig’s, then closed the door, leaned over the window frame and squinted, trying to decipher her brother’s silhouette through the pouring rain. She quickly saw the light of Craig’s phone screen, before he hastily shielded it from the rain with the sleeve of his jacket. She swung her leg over the frame, and sat there a moment while she tried to understand how her brother had made it down there. It’s not like Craig’s window was high enough to kill her if she fell on the ground, especially seeing how the rain turned it into mud, but still… It was pretty high.

Gathering all her courage, she took a deep breath and swung her other leg on the outside, leaning solely on the cornice. Her hand were tightly gripping the window frame, not ready to let go. How the hell did her brother do that ?

She glanced bellow once again, and Craig was not visible anymore. Yet, the small voice inside of her telling her to still go after him didn’t shut. She knew it wasn’t only worry for Craig and his boyfriend that pushed her to this limit. She also wanted to prove a point. Gripping tighter, she lowered one leg towards the porch roof just under the window. With one hand on the window sill, she managed to push the toes of one leg on top of it. She tentatively let go of the window, and her other toes safely joins the firsts on the door roof.

But when she bent to reach down, she felt her feet slip underneath her on the wet roof. She tried to catch herself on the edge of it, but it was too slippery for her fingers to find a hold. All the air in her body knocked out of her as she hit the humid ground. Her body felt stiff, heavy, like every organs inside of her had doubled and swelled from the brutality of her fall. She couldn’t hear a thing, her head was foggy, and she groaned out in pain. She didn’t even have the ability to panic when a silhouette leaned over her, shielding her from the rain, and started to drag her behind a bush nearby.

The front door opened to the suspicious face of Thomas Tucker, inspecting the darkness. The rectangle light from the open door was enough for Tricia to identify her brother, expression blank as ever as he concentrated on their father. When the door finally closed, he let out a shaky breath and addressed his sister.

“That was really dumb, even for you,” stated his deep nasally voice. Tricia grunted, but didn’t have the strength to do anything more at the moment. Craig reached a hand out for her, and though her pride told her not to take it, the pain won as she begrudgingly took it. She wobbled a bit on her feet, but Craig kept her hand in his, to make sure she wouldn’t fall back.

She quickly inspected herself, and was glad to see she wasn’t badly injured. Some blood ran down the back of her calve, and she had cut both her hands on the edge of the roof, but there was nothing too deep and no broken bones. She felt a bit miserable, and dirty, with all the mud that covered her hair and her body, but she was fine. Unfortunately, Craig didn’t let her savor that relief.

“Really, I knew you were dumb, but this went beyond my belief.”

“You told so already,” teased Tricia, unable to see her brother’s expression in the night.

“No, you don’t realise. That was _at least_ Cartman dumb, Tricia, I’m not even kidding! You could have killed yourself! What the hell were you thinking, anyway ?”

Tricia didn’t notice right away how furious he seemed to be. Deciding that attack was best defense, she let go of his hand and accused, arms folded over her chest despite her shaking legs. “And why have _you_ went down the same path, anyway ? You’re going to look for Tweek ? All alone, in the dark ?”

Craig scoffed. “Of course not. I have a brain, unlike you.”

“Then what are you doing ?”

“None of your business, Tricia. Go back inside.”

“I can’t. The Tweaks are here, and I don’t think I can climb back up there on my own right now.”

“You’re unbearable, I swear. You are the most annoying piece of shit I ever had to deal with in my life, and I got to be with Stan’s group of asshole friends on a daily basis. I fucking hate you, Trish.” Craig threw his hands in the air, stared at his sister, then turned around and walked, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. When Tricia started to follow, he snapped and yelled “Go back inside ! I don’t care, we’re already caught anyway, thanks to you ! You made so much noise, you can be sure the parents are checking out our rooms by now.”

“Then, let me come with you. I don’t wanna stay with our parents and the creeps. Please !”

“You are not allowed. I am not allowed to bring someone into the group like that, and you are too young, and too much of a girl, and too much of a nuisance, so do whatever the hell you want, but I swear if I find out you followed me, I’ll… ok ?”

Tricia rolled her eyes. After all the efforts she had done… “Fine,” she said. “But it’s only because I’m fucking cold. And I'll tell on you to the parents.” Craig huffed.

“You know what ? Fine. I let you come, but you won’t enter the base. And you better keep your mouth shut about it.”

Tricia nodded, actually very pleased.

She felt very self-conscious, sitting in the Black’s classy living room. With her soaked, muddy hair, dirty clothes, and blood-stained hands. She had tried to make her way in the basement with Craig, but the glare he had given her made her very aware of the fact that she had pushed him to his limits. So she didn’t insist when he slammed the door at her. She only put her ear against the door, and scowled when she realized she couldn’t hear anything that was said. She had to be the worst spy ever. She pouted, and went back to sit on the couch. She was rather happy in having the huge living room just for herself, anyway. It was dimly lit by the fireplace, were some wood was burning gently, giving the room a red hue and soft atmosphere. It was cozy, and the couch was so soft she felt like dozing off. A calm, small figure passing by the window jolted her awake though. She stared awhile, but saw nothing else.

She shook her head, and to calm her nerves she headed towards the closest bathroom. She was tired. In the mirror, Tricia took in the details of her poor appearance, and decided she’d better clean herself a little. She spent ten minutes trying to nudge all of the mud out of hair and cleaning her face in the sink, but when she realized some of it seemed unremovable, she went back to the huge, warm living room. Just in time to see the figure passing by the window, once again. Tricia squinted, waited, and to make sure she wasn’t making things up, nor seeing something akin of ghost - it wasn’t her kind; she was more of the rational type – she went to the front door and opened it, just in time to see a hooded figure turning at the corner of the house.

There was definitely someone in the Black’s backyard.

* * *

“KENNETH ! GET YOUR ASS DOWN THERE !”

Karen jolted, and quickly hid the backpack she had been packing just seconds before under her bed. She raised from her knees and crossed her hands in front of her, the epitome of innocence. Kevin threw her a dirty look, but he quickly paled when Stuart kicked their door open, a beer in one hand and fire in his eyes. Solely focused on the little sister.

“Where th’ hell is yer fuckin brother ?!” he slurred.

Karen shrugged, and flinched when Stuart took a step forward and yanked at her collar. Kevin sat a bit upright, ready to interpose in case things became bad. Stuart didn’t pay him any attention, and yelled “Don’ even try t’ fool me, ye’re basically tied to each other ! I should’ve known you were both plottin' against me, sons of a bitch ! Ya wanna sink my fuckin’ business, isn’t it ? Who’s gonna pay the bills, motherfuckas ?!” Karen forced herself to not pull a face as Stuart’s alcoholaced breath hit her face. But she couldn’t bring herself to talk, even as her dad started to shake her.

“Fuck off, moron. Kenny’s been missing for a while now. Y’were just too drunk to notice, bastard,” Kevin intervened, adopting the same agressive slur as their father's. Instantly, Stuart’s grip released her as he stumbled over Kevin’s bed. He probably wanted to yell at him, too, but what had caused his anger in the first place seemed to take over as he let himself fall onto the mattress, his voice a drunken pathetic as he complained. “The little piece of shit took my best clients’ delivery… And now, they’re here to have their share, and I have nothin' to give 'em ! My business, my poor little business!”

Kevin hurried to get the furthest away he could from his father on his bed, and gave Karen a disgusted look at this display. Fortunately, Stuart didn’t seem to notice. Karen was still trying to calm her heart down from the adrenaline heights, until she felt Carol’s hand protectively wrap around her shoulder. “Stuart,” she called through gritted teeth, “the Tweaks are waiting for you at the door.”

Karen frowned, confused. _But… I gave Tweek the delivery, on Thursday_. It was only when she felt the hand on her shoulder tighten that she realized she had spoken aloud. Immediately, Stuart yanked her away from her mother’s embrace, and inquired. “Wha’ did ya do ? Are ya messin’ with me ? I bet it’s all yer brother’s fault !”

“No ! I didn’t do anything, I swear ! I did everything I was s'posed to do !” replied Karen, whose eyes were tearing. “Stuart”, started Carol with a threat and fear filled voice. “Let her go. She is too young, she probably made a mistake and wasn’t aware of it. And I’ll warn ya, if ya lay a hand on her…”

Stuart cocked an eyebrow at her, and scoffed. “What woudya do ? You ain’t got no power against me, bitch. I own the motherfuckin’ house, and motherfuckin’ money.” He then turned his attention back to his daughter. “Mistake or not, she’s going to take her responsibilities.”

He took her forearm and yanked her behind him through the house. She glanced back in the direction of her backpack, but was forced to follow as fear was taking over the rest of her body. On the doorstep, the Tweaks seemed to be stilled in a smile, as if they hadn’t heard any of the screams inside. In fact, they were a stark contrast to the chaos surrounding them, be it the weather or the McCormick’s home life. They looked like they could have stayed there, standing still with a smiling face, even through an apocalypse. Their smile didn’t falter as they turned inquisitive eyes towards them. Panicked, Karen tried to push Stuart’s arm away from her, but he didn’t let her go.

“She says she’s given it t’ yer son. Maybe ya can get somethin’ from her, but I’ll tell ya, she’s a vicious one.”

The Tweaks turned their smile-plastered face down to watch her more closely. “Hello, dear,” started Mr. Tweak, gently. He knelt down so he matched her eye level. “You see, your father’s delivery are _especially_ important to our small, local business. And the problem, you see, is that Tweek didn’t give it to us before he went to play with his little friends.”

Immediately, Karen defended herself. She knew that kid could only cause her problem. “I swear that I did give him, Mister. He was standing exactly there, I picked up the delivery, and I gave it to him. He then went off somewhere, I don’t know, but this is not my fault.” She glanced anxiously at her father, whose anger ignited eyes were boring holes into her. She shifted on her legs, trying to relieve some tension.

Mrs Tweak let out a deep sigh, and nodded in an understanding way. “Oh, so he did come here before he went to his friends…”

“Is everything ok ?” timidly asked a voice in the back of the house. Mrs Tweak landed her cool eyes on Carol’s form briefly before she hummed. “Oh, yeah… Well, Tweek didn’t came home, since yesterday. He was supposed to bring the delivery before he went to play, but we figured he was too excited by the idea of spending the night at a friend’s… But now we’re running out of… _ingredients_ , and he knows how important it is to us. It’s so unlike him, this behaviour, so we were wondering if maybe you had seen him at all.”

As if it completely unfazed her, she gave Karen a warm smile that never reached her eyes. “Thank you for your help”, she said in her honey voice. “I am very sorry for the inconvenience. It would have been silly to run out of coffee, wouldn’t it.” She had a little laugh, as if she genuinely thought this was the most absurd thought ever. Looking suddenly very upset at that idea, Mr. Tweak stood back up and asked his wife “Do you think Tweek has enough coffee on him ? If not, he might get sick, or out of control… You know how he is, coffee’s the only thing keeping him grounded…”

Always in his drunken state, Stuart seemed completely lost. He took advantage of the Tweak’s distraction to ask his daughter, with as low of a voice as he could manage “That Tweek kid, he gave ya the money ?” Karen nodded, and satisfied with he only thing he actually cared about, Stuart turned back to his customers. “Well, I’m sorry for your loss, but I can’t help ya. Maybe if ya find yer kid, ya’ll find the stuff with him ? Dunno. If you want, I’ll ask Karen here to bring it to ya next week. May be safer. But that’d be a bit more expensive…” he trailed off.

“Oh, that’s very kind of you,” replied Mr Tweek, “but don’t worry, I know my son. He’s afraid of the storm, and the dark, and the gnomes, and… Well, pretty much anything. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. If he isn’t home by 10 tonight, I’ll ask the Tuckers. They may know about him -”

“Well, see ya,” interrupted Stuart, uninterested. He closed the door, and gave his daughter a pitiful glare. “Ya can’t do a thing right, can ya ? I warn ya. If I find out you and yer twisted brother are up to anythin’ against me, I’ll make ya pay. The both of ya”. With that, he went to lock himself in his room.

As soon as the door closed, Carol hurried to her daughter and pulled her flush against her chest in relief, but Karen quickly pushed her away. She had projects for this afternoon, no matter the weather, nor this interruption. And whatever Mysterion would have said about it, he wasn’t here to stop her anyway. He had decided to let her on her own, and he’ll pay the consequences of it.

Kevin was the only one that hadn’t budge from his bed the entire time. He checked quickly, to see Karen seemed to be pretty fine. She, however, didn’t pay him any attention as she retrieved her backpack from under the bed. A packet of Poptarts, a plastic bottle of some water she found, her doll, a few clothes, she had even retrieved a flashlight from Kenny’s room. Satisfied with her light package, she zipped her brother’s parka all the way up and pulled the hood, before she slipped her backpack securely between her shoulder blades.

Kevin gave her a disapproving look, but he wasn’t in a position to say anything. “Kenny wouldn’t be pleased with you,” he finally stated, knowing this was the most he could argue with here.

Karen shrugged, and simply replied “I’m doing it for him”, before she crossed the corridor separating their rooms to crawl through Kenny’s window.

She had made her decision the night before, and her resolution only strengthened when she woke up to another absence of Mysterion. She was a bit upset at the superhero, though she knew she couldn’t hold a grudge against him. She had given herself the two months of summer holidays to find her brother. Until then… She’d see.

Mr. Possy growled at her as she passed by his habitat. She stuck her tongue out at him, which apparently shut him as he went back inside. She grinned, satisfied.

She had avoided So Do So Pa. It was too close to the house, too unlikely for Kenny to be there. She also was too scared of those vast ruins, which once represented all she ever wished for. She feared, too, the deep, dark forest surrounding South Park, which was her last resort in case she didn’t find her brother. So she decided to walk along the rusty railway.

At some point though, the railway got lost in the thick forest. Karen cursed under her breath, then quickly apologized into the void, knowing Kenny didn’t like it when she cursed. She tried to keep track of the railway, but it was quickly covered in vegetation. Remembering how her brother used to mark their way in tree trunks when they were walking around together, Karen thought about using a sharp stone to do the same, but she quickly realized it didn’t really work. She made the mental note to look through Kenny’s room for his pocket knife, or even Kevin’s if she could, whenever she’d be back home. She hoped she had enough to at least be away from it for a week.

Unfortunately, she soon heard the sound of rain starting to pound. against the canopy. She furrowed her eyebrows. It was raining a lot lately, for a summer month... She pulled the hood of the orange parka up. It limited her vision, but at least she felt warm and safe. She barely felt it when the water fell from the trees above onto her figure. After a few hours, though, she could definitely feel the pain in her legs. After one more hour, it burned so bad she had the urge to lean against a nearby tree. Now forced to stop and consider her action, all kind of negative thoughts overwhelmed her. She had no idea where she was, where she was heading, and for all she knew, she might have been a few feet away from her house. She slumped against the tree, reaching the humid ground, which sipped through her pants.

Had she really thought _she_ would bring back her brother when Mysterion was unable to ?

Disappointed, she gathered all her remaining strengths, adjusted her backpack, and started to rush. A thunder cracked above, startling her, and revealing a presence she hadn’t notice before. A presence she could sense through the wild wind and the electricity in the air, an aura she had already felt before, both mysterious and familiar.

Was it Mysterion, nearby ?

Excitement and a form of relief she didn’t analyze fueled her with enough energy to put her back on her feet. She didn’t even notice she was sinking deeper in the thick forest, as this extra sense was guiding her towards the aura.

The sensation of the presence was fading in and out, but here, surrounded by the rain poruing off the canopy of the forest, she strangely felt at peace. The wind was hurling, the trees were whipping the open sky, but her senses were overloaded by a sense of chaos and beauty. She stood still for a while appreciating the noise, the cold, the swirling movement of the world going down. Overwhelmed by the very essence of existence.

Until that presence, the same she could never describe, sank back into her mind.

She opened her eyes, and the aura could be felt, far away, in the heart of the forest. Karen ran after the presence, but she was too far still to be sure of what it was. She ran, and ran again, feeling like a fool running after a rainbow. She ran, yet she knew she wasn’t getting any closer. Soon, the trees opened to throw her in some kind of open space, and she stumbled across what looked like a training field. Mannequins were hauntingly standing on their sticks, staring down at her. A shiver ran up her spine, and she realized the presence had vanished.

Lost, she kept walking, until she was in front of a high wall of bricks. She followed along it, to reach an open, fancy looking forged gate, offering entrance to the garden of probably the biggest house she had ever seen. Mesmerized, she contemplated the lights illuminating the façade, in awe that whoever living there wasn’t out to admire the sharp contrast that gave their house the illusion to be alive.

After her third round around the house, a rectangular shape caught her attention, as she noticed there was a one single window alit, at ground level. She crawled under the bushes to observe closer, and was surprised to find most of Kenny’s friends, gathered around a table, dressed in a strange fashion. Except for Craig, she thought fondly, who was too cool to have such an outfit. Despite his presence, she was disappointed. If those were Kenny’s friends, that meant she was back in South Park. Therefore, she had failed.

As she didn’t see Mysterion, she was about to crawl out, when a hand grabbed her feet and dragged her from under the bush. She yelled, and a surprised sound echoed her. Standing above her was the one girl she admired and feared the most: Tricia Tucker.

She looked even more intimidating, with the dark spots on her face and hands, and the raging rain swirling around her. From her spot on the floor, Karen gulped. Tricia had her hands on her hips, but her surprised expression didn’t match the authority she was trying to convey. She finally voiced out her confusion.

“Wow. What the hell are you doing here ? You were taking a nap or something ? Or is there anything wothy of interest down there ?”

Karen frowned, shaky but defiant. She ignored her, and looked away. She clutched her backpack tightly, as Tricia insisted. “Hey, don’t ignore me !” she ordered, not liking when people didn’t treat her right. “Why aren’t you with the others inside ? Aren’t you that Mc Cormick kid ? Oh, let me guess, you’re trying to trick my brother ? Can I join you ?!” said Tricia excitedly, mischief glistening in her eyes.

Karen, who didn’t understood, didn’t answer. She stood up quietly, and wiped the hair that stuck to her cheek away. That’s when the orange of her brother’s parka came into view. Oh.

Tricia thought she was Kenny.

Though it was still raining, Karen zipped the parka down a little bit, enough to reveal her face. Realizing her mistake, Tricia blushed and took a step back. “I’m not here for your brother,” said Karen, though seeing the older boy had been quite a comfort on this long lonely night. “I’m looking for mine.”

Tricia had a snort. “Of course you’re not”. But as she took in the second part of the sentence, Tricia’s face grew concerned. “Your brother ? He’s missing, too ?” Karen briefly nodded.

Tricia took hold of her arm, with a toothy smile Karen had a hard time to understand. “You know what ? Tweek’s also missing ! But my asshole of a brother doesn’t want to involve me in whatever he’s planning to do to look for him. He’s such a bastard ! But, look, we could team up and search by ourselves ! He’d be so mad !”

At the mention of Tweek’s name, a fire ignited within Karen’s chest. Kenny had been missing for _weeks_ , and so far, she had been the only one who made somewhat of an effort in finding him. But, barely a day after Craig’s boyfriend’s disappearance, and suddenly everyone felt involved ! The anger was so strong that she even forgot who was talking to her at the moment. She pushed Tricia away, and spat “I don’t care about that… ! That… I don’t care about him. Do your thing by yourself!”

She was ready to storm off, tears beginning to form in her eyes, but a hand took ahold of hers, forcing her to face Tricia once again. For once, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “Look. I am not your biggest fan, and I understand that you might be angry with me… Very angry, actually. But I kind of need help. It’s not Tweek’s fault if I did something shitty to you. I really apologize, and… I’ll tell the other girls to leave you alone. Deal ?”

“No ! No, it’s not a deal ! I…”

“I promise I’ll help you with your brother once we have Tweek back ! After we have some experience.”

Karen was tempted to refuse. She honeslty couldn’t care less about Tweek Tweak. Tweek Tweak might have been the only person Karen ever hated. No she actually was sure she hated him, for he stole the attention she and her brother should have. As far as she was concerned, Tweek Tweak could as well die. Besides, she knew that blunt honesty was kind of the Tuckers’ trade mark, but… It didn’t mean Tricia couldn’t be lying either. Tricia had only once been a part in Karen’s bullying, yet it was way enough for Karen to mistrust her. Tricia could do everything so much better. She didn’t need Karen. Not like Karen might need Tricia’s strength.

Her struggling must have been too noticeable though, as Tricia raised her pinky finger in the air, waiting for Karen to lock hers with it. “I pinky promise,” Tricia said.

Beside Kenny, no one had ever pinky promised her. And Kenny never, ever, lied to her.

With hesitation, Karen intertwined her pinky with the other girl’s. “Fine,” she exhaled. _For Kenny_ , she thought. _For Kenny…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's a bit dramatic for a South Park fanfic, but... I love angst, sorry ^^'.  
> Also, I am not sure I wrote Stuart's slang right, so... I picked from what I saw on other fics, but I have never heard someone actually talk that way, so I hope it's accurate.


	5. Mistrust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year !
> 
> What would be this fic if we didn't get over a month without an update ? I'm sorry, I actually wanted to post yesterday, but I wasn't satisfied with the ending I initially chose for this chapter. Anyway, I'm glad I found the time to go back to this, even though the chapter isn't that long.
> 
> Also, we're almost to the end of the first part ! Still two or three chapters, I am not sure yet.

Truly, there was nothing good on this morning.

Kenny squinted. He was never particularly good at mornings. Why were after-death mornings always so harsh ? He raised himself on one elbow, mind momentarily blank. Then realized. What had happened the last time he was awake ?

First, he had to change from the parka. Even though Mysterion’s dark aura tired his mind, Kenny was supposedly away for now. He sighed, discouraged, and let himself drop back onto his matress. A spring poked his hip as he did so, and he yelped as he sat up, massaging the area with one hand. _Damn mattress, so fucking useless_ he muttered, as he was forced to get up.

He _really_ didn’t want to quit the orange cloth, though. His room was freezing. The climate was hectic, and the cracks in his walls and the hole in his roof poorly concealed the violent gushes of icy wind whipping from outside. The tissue at the foot of his mattress was stiff and cracking, from the rain that had poured on it from the roof cracks and that was beginning to ice.

Kenny still began to change, absorbed in his effort to remember. How did he die this time ? He couldn’t recall. Those deaths was the one he preferred, when he couldn’t remember. His body always carried the ghost of excruciating pain, when he woke up, but sometimes, his mind was completely blank. And usually, he cherished that. This time, though he knew he couldn’t give in to oblivion. He had this feeling, it was crucial to remember.

Where was he, last time he remembered ?

A shiver ran through his body as he discarded his beloved parka, and something crossed his mind. Cold. Last time he remembered, he was cold. Unbearably cold, even, if he remembered well. But why was he so bone-deep cold ?

He inspected his body minutely once he was fully undressed, old habit, despite the actual coldness of the room. He was kind of used to it, though it didn’t make it any better. His inspection was pretty unnecessary, he knew he was always intact when he was back to the living. No scar, no bruise, not even the most permanent burn ever lasted on his skin. Not even the ones that didn’t cause him to die. Sometimes, it made him happy, knowing that he wouldn’t stay burnt, dismembered, disfigured, for the rest of his life. Sometimes, it made him sad, knowing that there was no trace, no hint of everything he was going through. It made him feel like his life was reset every time he died, and he had to redo everything from the beginning. It made him feel like his life, the events of it, didn’t matters, as they would soon be erased from his skin.

It made him feel incredibly lonely.

The loud vibration of his antique, scratched phone pulled him out of his inspection. He quickly pulled his costume on and opened it, to be welcomed with a Coonstagram notification, accompanied by a frenzy of text from the group chat. He opened Coonstagram first, half of the interface not charging, as his poor connection wasn’t enough to support the numerous texts emitting at the moment. It was a story from the New Kid, showing a photo of Tweek in his casual outfit, asking their follower if anybody had seen him.

Tweek. Cold.

Tweek, who knew something about him that he didn’t know.

Oh.

So _that_ was what happened the last time he was awake. Of course, he had been with Tweek. Tweek, whose power had suddenly revealed themselves, making the paranoid little boy lose his mind.

Tweek was in danger, and even though he knew the approximate location of the other blond, Mysterion couldn’t protect him from his power. Yes, that was what happened. Mysterion hadn’t been able to pierce through the giant storm that threatened to swallow its creator whole.

Hurriedly, he opened the group chat, only to find a blank page. Damn. This goddamn phone and his shitty connection… He needed to go to U-Stor-It fast, there were pretty good wavelengths there.

Small, soft footsteps could be heard from the other side of his door. Mysterion looked up expectantly to find Karen, who had a frown he didn’t like on her soft face.

“Hey,” he began “what’s up, Kare ? Are you upset about your brother still ? Don’t worry, I’m on the case, I promise” he said, a little voice screaming in the back of his mind as he lied so blatantly at his little sister. But strangely, Karen didn’t seem to care, as she advanced without an answer to pick up the discarded parka lying on the floor. “How did you end up here ?” she asked softly.

“Oh, hum, you know…” he started babbling, but Karen jumped and turned towards him, seemingly startled by the sound of his voice. Had she not heard him the first time ? Maybe his curse’s timing was staggered…

“What are you doing here ? Do you have any news ?” she asked, excitedly. He indulged her into a hug, squeezing hard as she tucked her head in the crook of his neck.

She looked up at him expectantly, and Kenny’s heart clenched. “I’m sorry, I have something to finish first…”

Karen frowned, and the grip her arms had around his neck tightened. “If it has anything to do with Tweek, don’t bother. The other heroes are already on his case.” Mysterion took ahold of her wrist to step back and look at her. “How do you know about Tweek ?”

Karen nervously avoided the question, replying fast “It is no use ! Other superheroes are already taking care of it. But no one is here for my brother ! Please, Guardian Angel, please, if you are not there for him, nobody will…”

That last part was full of a venom Kenny had never witnessed from his little sister before. He winced. It hurts, to know that no matter his efforts, he wouldn’t be remembered. Noticed. In a way, he was never truly present. He was merely a shadow in the background of everybody’s life, easily forgotten. One of his biggest anguish was, if he ever died for good, that the whole life he spent would be immediately forgotten by the ones that remained. There were times, where it hurt so much, actually, that he _had_ to turn it into anger, because it was just too much for him to carry on his own. And he couldn’t afford to be weak, could he ?

But despite everything, he knew he couldn’t resent his friends, nor his family, for it. Because he knew they couldn’t help it. There were times he questioned what they truly felt for him, and he used to despise them a little. Until he realized that he, himself, didn’t remember how _they_ reacted, when he died. A part of him liked to think that they cried, and mourned him while he was away. Another wish they didn’t suffer the way he did when he was taken away. But just as everybody, he was left in the dark as to what lied in the afterlife. Once he was awake, everything evaporated, or distorted, just as if he’d been sleeping. There was only the memory of the pain of his last instants, printed in his body, to remain.

Karen, though, couldn’t understand, why no one was concerned about him. And Kenny didn’t understand why she seemingly was the sudden exception of some effects of his curse. How could he explain to his younger sister that Kenny was not to be worried over and that she shouldn’t resent the rest of the town for forgetting about him ?

“Listen Karen, this is out of your reach… I know you’re worried, but you need to trust me. I always did everything to protect you, and I know that your brother is not in immediate danger. I don’t forget about him, but there is someone that needs help more than he does, at the moment. And I have informations that the others don’t. You need to trust me, ok ? Do you trust me ?”

Karen swallowed. Hard. “Let me go with you.”

“Karen, no. Kenny would never forgive me if anything happened to you. I wouldn’t forgive myself. You are the most precious thing the both of us has, okay ? Stay safe. And please, whatever it is you know about Tweek, drop it. There is nothing you can do for him, alright ? I appreciate your efforts, but I can’t risk to put you in danger.”

Karen tilted her head down, feelings too strong to be kept quiet, even though she felt ashamed by what she was about to say. “Maybe I don’t want to be so precious…” she tempted, without meeting his eyes. He refrained from clicking his tongue in annoyance. “You don’t know what you are saying.”

Karen sighed, and came closer, leaning in for another hug. Seeking comfort “Okay. Be safe. And don’t forget about Kenny.”

“I won’t, I promise.” She smiled, and let him go, watching his retreating back fading between the blocks of Sodosopa, view clouded by curtains of heavy rain and hard snow.

* * *

Wrapped in her brother’s parka, she felt like a knight in the shiniest armor, as she headed towards the Tucker’s house. The wind hollered and whipped all around her, past by her, but she was protected, untouchable, safe from its angry lash out.

And yet, at the same time, she felt so very wrong.

How she wished she could hush that sneaky voice inside her that was teasing her, mocking he, telling her how wrong what she was about to do was. She had tried to ignore the hints, the holes in the plot, the feeling something was wrong, but that vicious voice, one she never heard when Kenny was around, was playing with her mind.

She gripped the envelope that had ended up in the orange parka, certain it was holding the missing pieces.

When the Tuckers’s house stood tall and proud in front of her, she considered to back off. To let Mysterion handle things the way he liked, and remain completely blind to the things that were obviously wrong in the whole Kenny affair. Ignore the fact she now knew the superhero was in danger. But she was involved now, and she wasn’t alone. If she could cower and lie to herself, that wasn’t Tricia’s way at all.

She didn’t have any alibi to flee anymore.

She walked up to the porch, avoiding a few tiles that had somehow seemingly fallen from the roof. Praying that Craig or Tricia (but mostly Craig, she wished) would open the door, she knocked softly, and was met with no answer. She waited, and knocked again, before she didn’t have the bravery to do so anymore. She jumped when a tall, buff red-headed man answered, grunting more than he was greeting when he met her little frame, apparently surprised. “Uh, hello ? Do you want something ?”

Karen shyly replied. “Hi, mister. Is Tricia there ?”

“Yes, she is. But she is grounded.”

Karen felt the panicked thud of her heart echo within her chest. She needed Tricia. Her accomplice. The braveness that could raise to help Mysterion. Though she was afraid. She barely controlled herself when she blurted: “Oh, I am sorry I bothered you… I really hoped that I could hang with her today… It’s my birthday, and I was truly looking forward to spend the day with her. She’s a precious friend.”

She immediately felt guilty, but it was slight.

The man scratch his prominent chin for a bit, as if he was puzzled by some complex questioning, staring right at her. “I am sorry, but who are you, again ?”

“Karen McCormick, sir ! I live on the other side of the railway.” She said casually, waiting for the reaction that would inevitably result from her family name. Generally, pity and disgust. Their situation was notorious, in town. Everybody was watching them, sheltered behind the window glass of the railroad, entertaining themselves. Thinking they were safe on their side of the track, and so much better.

Kenny always hated when people took pity on him. But if that name could provoke some into M. Tucker, Karen would be grateful, as long as it allowed her to join her partner in crime.

Apparently though, the Tuckers didn’t care much for her family background. “Are you trying to scam me ?” he frowned.

Karen froze. Then, yelling coming from upstairs resonated, and the giant redhead let out a loud sigh as he rolled his eyes. "Come in," he finally said, "I'm gonna make sure they're not killing each other or something."

Cautiously, Karen took a step inside those strangers' house. She felt extremely uncomfortable. It was just an average house, without stains, without holes, without rats running everywhere on the floor. But knowing it belonged bot to her childish crush and her kind of… whatever her relationship with Tricia was, made it special in a way Karen wasn't able to deal with. There even was a TV, an actual TV, with colors and a HD screen, flashing a worrying weather forecast.

She walked up the stairs behind M. Tucker. Standing in the corridor, he held one child in each of his hands, keeping them effortlessly apart, as he scolded them for their fight. Craig kept growling, in his deep voice "Tricia, give me my fucking phone back. I need it ! It's urgent." As Tricia refused to comply, Thomas intervened "Tricia, be nice and give your brother his phone back. You know he is having a hard time, his boyfriend is missing. It is normal to be aggressive and sensitive when you are worried about a loved one."

Craig apparently didn't take it well, as he yelled "Well, fuck you dad !" but immediately shut his mouth when the desired object fell into his hands. He immediately locked himself within his room, without sparing a glance to the new arrival. Thomas had a mumbled conversation with his daughter, before he signaled for Karen to come forward. "A friend of you came. It's _apparently_ her birthday. I'll let it happen, but only once. Also, you're forbidden to leave the house. Not that you'd willingly go outside by such a shitty weather, anyway... I’m done." And with that, he headed downstairs, waving the subject away with a flicker of his wrist.

Tricia was waiting for her, hands folded on her chest. "Well, happy birthday I guess" she said with a knowing smile. "Come in."

Tricia’s room was nothing like she expected it to be.

The walls were a bright pink, and she had the biggest, fluffiest bed Karen had ever seen. There were unicorn posters tapped on the wall, probably from the Princess Kenny collection Japan had developed. She had a white laptop elegantly sited on a stool by her desk, which was apparently in the midst of being cleaned. On the corner, she had a big dresser adorned with a fill length mirror, and a teal bean bag that matched the pillows color and looked incredibly cozy. Karen took everything in wonder, baffled. Tricia was so rough, so wild, so strong, she hadn’t expected her room to be so clean and so _girly_.

Though it worked well with the whole royal court thing.

Tricia removed her laptop from the stool and as Karen was awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, she urged her to sit on her mattress. Fearing she’d dirty anything if she came in contact with it, Karen removed her holed shoes and socks before she obliged.

« So, » Tricia began, « I guess you came because of our case ? Great, cause I’ve been working on it. »

Karen, who never missed an occasion to learn anything about Craig, inquired. « Is this why you were fighting with your brother ? »

At the mention of him, Tricia scrunched her nose in disgust.

« Ugh, tell me about it. You’re lucky you have such a nice big brother. Mine is a prick. »

« Oh, I’m sure Craig is not that bad, » she said with a blush.

« You’re not living with him. You, everyone knows how much he cares about you. Notice how no one dares to pick on you, when he’s here ? » Tricia said uncharacteringly softly. Then, her voice turned accusatory, as she said in a fit of rage. « If that ever happened to me, I’m sure Craig would just laugh at me with the rest. If I was like you, the girls would attack me every day, just like they did, when… You know. It’s not for nothing they did it that day. He wasn’t there., right ? »

Sensing the discomfort, and probably ashamed she had appeared so vulnerable, Tricia quickly changed the subject, possibly falsely excited. « I had his phone long enough that it is interesting for us, though. Wanna see ? »

As an answer, Karen came closer to the desk and leaned toward the laptop Trivia had carefully balanced on her knee.

« What is this ? » she asked, looking at the moving dots on the screen.

“This is the live conversation of our favorite dumbass congregation.” Tricia proudly said.

« I didn’t know you could do that. »

« Internet is your friend. »

Karen raised an eyebrow, suspicious. « Yeah, but I assumed you didn’t have the password for his phone, am I wrong ? »

Tricia had a genuine laugh at this. « Oh please ! Craig is the most boring being ever. His phone password was « Tweek » and the one for his apps was « Stripe ». The only doubt I had was which one was the first. » Karen smiled fondly. That was kind of sweet.

As her eyes scrolled through the conversation though, she noticed the messages of a certain someone. And as she insisted, she realized that that someone’s messages were systematically unanswered.

_guys i know where tweek is i’m heading there but i need help_

_specially fro s. craig actually_

_guys ?_

_guys its urgent tweek is trapped within the snowstorm. it’s urgent guys pls confirm u’ll come_

Unsettled, Karen discreetly looked at Tricia, who had still that triumphant look on her face, probably by showing her skill to her comrade. She hadn’t notice. Probably couldn’t.

And now, Karen had to jump into the uncomfortable side of her visit…

She was terrified. But she needed to address Mysterion’s existence and what laid in the envelope that was still tightly settled in the parka’s depths. Yet, right in front of her stood one of the girls that made fun of her for speaking of her Guardian Angel. Thinking she was a fool, a “baby” to still think that such creatures existed. They were allies by circumstances, but she was afraid that the slightest mishaps may make the other girl reconsider and use anything she knew as blackmail. _Always watch your back, Kare-Bear._

Gathering what little courage she had, she started to pull the envelope out of its confines staring blankly at the screen. Her fingers shook, and nausea started to rise in her throat. Her stomach was churning. All of this was so _wrong_ , and she didn't have the gut to do it. Eyes focused on the busy group chat, the wheels inside her head activated fast. As slowly as she had started to pull, she settled the proof back in the security of her brother’s pocket. Mysterion’s existence was supposed to be a secret, after all. _Her_ secret, her mind provided, as she remembered the blood-freezing first words of a puzzling riddle.

 _Very_ _well, Mysterion. Seems like you found the first clue -_

Yeah, Karen had a plan. And Tricia wouldn’t need a whole explanation to help. Her voice was slightly wavering as she muttered, eyes still focused on the invisible messages “I know how to find Tweek.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this theory that Kenny doesn't actually remember what happens in his afterlife, or that it's all blurry. He rarely evokes his deaths on the show, and when he does I think it's actually pretty vague. Thought it might be interesting. Do you have SP theories of that kind ? Or even theories about this fic ? I'd be curious to know them.
> 
> Also, it is the first time I am writing something that is that complicated, and I feel way out of my comfort zone. Is there something I am doing wrong ? How could I improve it ? Is there any question you wish was answered and is taking too long ? I'd appreciate any kind of criticism, as long as it can makes this story better !


	6. The seal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited that this is almost over !
> 
> Also, I noticed that Ao3 says that this hasn't been updated since November, when I actually updated Chapter 5 the first of January. So do you have access to it ? Or do I need to reupload it ?
> 
> Anyway, this is chapter 6, and some elements finally come together.

He was amidst of the chaos.

Worse, he was actually a full part of it, unreachable.

The elements were truly unchained, fueled by whatever complicated emotion Tweek was feeling, continuously bringing up the flames as the panic found no more meaning. The mountain would soon no longer be able to contain the storm brewing in its confines, and then…

Mysterion would find it beautiful, if it weren’t so terrifying.

Tweek was right there, in the middle, eyes dark and empty, unmoving figure as all hell got lose around him. Unreachable. The epicenter of everything. Possessed by the swirls of wind, snow and lighting he was subconsciously lashing out to the world. How would he get to him? How could he reach him, through that armor storming around him ?

 _If only Craig was replying to my texts_ , regretted Mysterion as he threw another useless glance to his silent phone. He could use Tupperware’s armor, too.

Mysterion squared his narrow shoulders, a nervous gesture to give him courage. But as soon as he step a foot from behind the massive silhouette of a gigantic pine, wind whipped him off his feet. He caught himself to another trunk, taking a moment to catch his footing, but unfortunately, the characteristic sound of crystalizing water let him know that Tweek had spotted somethig, and was ready to throw another iced pike that would probably pierce through him. _Again_. _He_ wasn’t Craig, god damn it ! How was he supposed to know how to calm Tweek down ? He had downed three full pot of methed coffee or what ?

Letting the anger give him some newfound strength, he came out again, facing Tweek’s unmoving figures, eyes boring into his. Tweek raised his hands, electricity dancing in the reelection of his eyes, and an ice spear grew out of his hands. Kenny smiled, thinking that if he was quick enough, strong enough, he could avoid it and break into the hole the spear would tear through the storm. He’d have to be focused, he couldn’t afford the loss of time that came with dying. Praying every lord he knew that his partners would be here soon enough to help, he readied himself to run, just as Tweek threw the spear in a precise direction.

What Mysterion hadn’t expected was that it wasn’t aimed in _his_ direction.

There was a figure, advancing slowly among the chaos, strong and seemingly unbothered by the tormenting weather. It made its way through the shaking trees, staring ahead, barely lit by a phone screen that didn’t pierce through the heavy atmosphere at all. It was small, and Kenny had to squint to the decipher the faintest hint of orange.

In his panic, he didn’t have the time to pull up his Mysterion voice, as he shouted “Karen !” He jumped off from behind his tree, to be immediately knocked back by the electric wind. The shock made him grunt in pain, as an electric wave coursed through his body, lighting fire in every of his vein, to his rapidly beating heart. He clutched a gloved hand on it, fighting the darkness that was slowly invading his vision. “Karen !” he weakly shouted again, but she hadn’t seem to hear him.

He saw the spear reach its desired target, and his scream strangled in his throat as his heart stopped beating.

* * *

“Can you see anything ?” asked Karen to the bright pink phone she was holding in front of her, camera filming the forest.

“ _Hum, let me see…_ ” started the bored voice of Tricia Tucker from the speaker. “ _I see snow, and trees, and… Wait ! yeah, I’m pretty sure I just spotted a snowflake”_ she continued sarcastically.

Karen rolled her eyes and switched to the front camera, while checking she was still heading in the right direction.

The snow was fast and heavy, and she couldn’t see a thing, but her brother’s parka protected her well. She breached through the wind as if it wasn’t even here. She even felt warm, apart from the burning cold on the small expense of skin the parka left uncover. She truly felt invincible, as if she were all wrapped up in a bubble.

“ _You are_ sure _this is the right direction ? My computer screen doesn’t seem to think you’re going anywhere, actually.”_

Karen nodded, then remember that Tricia couldn’t see the motion because of the slightly too big parka, so she spoke “Yes, I’m sure. Trust me.”

“ _Yeah, yeah. You lend your brand new phone to some poor ass near stranger that is most likely to get lost in creepy woods, and we’ll see how trustful you feel. And, if my father see I stole his phone, he’s going to kill me. Plus, I still don’t see how you are going to find Tweek.”_

“You wouldn’t believe me. But you’ll see soon enough, I promise.”

Karen checked the phone map again, spotting the red dot hidden in the middle of the mountain. She shifted a bit to the left. She was so close, she could almost feel it, the weird presence. It was coursing through the eccentric weather. Absentmindedly, her fingers fiddled with the card in the envelope. It was oddly comforting, and enticing, like it attracted her the closest she got to the source of the chaos.

“ _It sucks that I am grounded. It must be thrilling to be up there !”_ complained Tricia.

Karen shrugged. “Well, it’s mostly cold, but- ”

Something hit her.

No, not exactly _hit_. It was more like… yeah, it had suddenly come to her senses. The atmosphere of the whole mountain had shifted. She was there. The wind, the snow, the thunder had doubled in intensity. It was a familiar feeling, something deep and mysterious, almost magical. Unnatural. Instinctively, Karen brought the phone closer to her mouth. “I think I’m almost there” she whispered, trying to look warily past the pine trees obstructing her vision.

She nibbled at the card again, and it almost screamed to be let out, to reach for the source of power. Karen gripped it tightly and pulled it out. “ _Wow_ ” Tricia said behind the phone screen. “ _Please, don’t tell me you went all up in the mountain to try and trick me with a glowing card !_ ” she said, some kind of admiration barely hidden behind sarcasm. “I had no idea it would do this”, replied Karen, staring intently at the card. The previously white piece of cardboard was radiating energy, a purplish pattern drawing itself over and over repeatedly. Karen shivered, the energy it had coursing through her body as if she were a wire linking it to the dark, magic aura it desperately wanted to reach.

“Can you see that ?” she asked the phone in wonder.

“ _Yeah. It is quite beautiful_ ” replied Tricia in a whisper.

“I feel it being pulled by something, kinda like a magnet. I can’t see a thing through the blizzard. Tell me if something is here. And stop me from cowering,” she added in a self-conscious joke. Tricia snickered. “ _Count on me for this one.”_

Karen closed her eyes, shielding them from the elements, solely focused on the aura she felt and the pull of the card. She brandished Tricia’s phone in front of her. She smiled to herself, thinking she probably looked like a knight ready for battle, pointing a sword toward her enemy. For the first time in her life, she felt strong.

A gasp from the phone teared her out of her fantasy. “ _I see something, I guess ! There is someone, inside the… What the heck ? How can it be so still_ inside _of the storm ?!!”_ Karen opened her eyes for a second, tears gathering because of the violent gushes of wind. She still had the time to spot the still figure of the young boy, who was probably Tweek. She stopped in her tracks, though, as the source of the aura was now divided in two. Unsure, she resumed walking, trusting the card that kept pulling towards the center of the storm. She hoped the second source was simply Mysterion, like she had thought. She couldn’t check on the phone, though, the dot of his position was too small for her obstructed vision.

“ _You should stop, Karen_ ,” came the worried voice of Tricia. _“It seems really dangerous. You’re going to be swallowed by the storm_ ”. Karen considered this, before she replied. “No. I don’t feel anything, thanks to the parka. I’m firmly spotted on the ground, don’t worry about that. Besides, I can see Tweek, now.” The last one was a lie. She couldn’t really see him, with her blurred vision. But she was sure it was him, inside.

Her name was shouted from behind her. The voice was familiar. Her heartbeat raising in hope, she whipped her head around, but didn’t see anything. “I swear I just heard my brother call my name.”

“ _I’m not reassured,”_ insisted Tricia. “ _Maybe we should contact the dumbasses ? Just in case something goes wrong._ ” Karen nodded, this time. “You’re right. I’m scared, too. You can contact them ?” _“Yeah, I can contact the NewKid on Coonstagram. Even my dad follow them. They’ll tell the rest.. Don’t know how they would believe me, though._ ”

“Just say that you found Tweek, and send my position. They don’t -”

A whistling sound pierced her ears and a cold, solid impact knocked the air out of her lungs. She fell backward, to see a long spear of ice raising perpendicularly from herself on the ground. In shock, she slowly let her gaze drop from the top of it to where it was sinking in her stomach. After she realized she was not in pain, she carefully pulled it out of her, looking for blood and injury. There was nothing. The spear had planted itself in the first layer of the fabric, barely tearing the bottom of it. It never reached her skin.

Still a bit disoriented by this miracle, she pulled the hood that had fallen off back on her head, and sat up, breathing deeply to stop the bile raising in her throat. After what felt like an eternity, she noticed some shrill emitting frim the discarded phone in the snow, and she realized the card was still tight in the grip of her left fist. She picked Tricia’s phone up, but unfortunately the snow had the time so ink its system, causing its unhealthy shrilling. God, this couldn’t possibly go worse, she thought, until she remembered that Tweek was still there.

  
She lifted her gaze from her lap, to meet the cold, dead stare of the boy she was supposed to find. The storm had grown, so that the epitome of it was larger. She was now in the inner circle, whirlwind screaming all around them, and way beyond them. Yet, Tweek was staring at her, evaluating if he wanted her alive or dead.

His hair were disheveled, and looked an electric yellow, turning him into some supernatural force. The bags under his eyes were incredibly dark, and his large eyes were sunken into his skull, glassy and unmoving. Karen didn’t know if he actually saw anything, yet she was shivering under his glare. In fact, he looked possessed.

Despite him seeming unmoving, he slowly took a shaky step forward. His eyes were never leaving hers, and she felt overwhelmed by the aura spreading from him. She felt as if hundreds of hands were raising from the air to maintain her on the ground, at the mercy of their god. She tried to scoot away, but she was unable to move, only stare intently as this angel of death kept coming closer.

And Tweek was so close, now. Despite being one of the smallest boy in his brother’s class, she felt like he was towering her. Once his feet touched hers, he stopped, and leaned over, electricity gathering in his hands. The sight of the sparks arose something within Karen, and she suddenly pushed on her heels to shove him back, slamming both hands over his chest.

Tweek took a few step back, clearly disoriented. His eyes went bright again, vivid, like they used to be. His hand, previously clutching his sternum where Karen’s hands had hit him, fell by his side, revealing the purple card that stuck to his chest. Karen watched him in horror as he started to convulse, feeling his aura faded into the card that was sucking it in like a leech. When it was finally over, Tweek dropped to the ground on his knees, and finally looked at Karen, for real this time. He barely let out a murmur of incomprehension, before he fell completely to the ground. The wind, the snow, the thunder, everything dropped at the exact same time he did, and the weather cleared.

Karen crawled hurriedly towards him, to make sure he was okay. He was still breathing, but the snow was sinking through his clothes, which weren’t very thick to begin with. She gathered him the best she could in her arms, grunting as he was heavier than him. As she wasn’t strong enough she gave up, so Tweek was awkwardly bent, both leaning on her lap and shoulder and laying on the ground. She wrapped herself around him the best she could, hoping the parka would be enough to keep the both of them warm.

* * *

She had no idea how much time had passed, but she knew that her hands, face, and feet were freezing. Tweek had woken up at some point, but he had shrieked away from her the very moment he opened his eyes. She was watching him, as he was the only distraction in this deep forest covered in snow and cut off from civilization. He was mumbling things under his breath, rolling back and forth on the heels of his feet, arms tightly draped over his knees. It was a bit pitiful, and Karen couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

“What are you saying ?” she asked gently.

“Don’t talk to me, you heathen ! It’s your kind that turned me into this ! Oh god, I swear that I’ll kill your brother the day I see him ! You heard me ? Tell me when you’ll see him, cause he better run for his life.”

Karen gulped down the disdain and antipathy she felt for the boy in favor to focus on the topic of her brother.

“My brother had been missing for weeks, now.” She said sadly, trying to coax him.

“Yeah, I’m very aware ! It was all a trick, man. He went missing, so Iwasworriedabouthim, I fought with Craig over him, and whenIwasatmyweakest, he bewitched me with his magic and something, and I lost control ! I had freaking superpowers, man ! Whowantssuperpowers ? I turned into a monster…”

Karen didn’t reply, as none of this made sense. She didn’t have any better explanation, but “Kenny is a nice person. He would never do something like this to you. Besides, my brother is not a witch.” Tweek scoffed at that. “He may not be a witch, but one thing’s for sure, he’s not human !” Karen growled, growing annoyed at the blonde. “Stop ! You don’t know anything! If it weren’t for me, you’d still be stuck in this stupid storm, and who knows, you might have ended up dead !” Tweek finally looked away, finally looking ashamed.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Ifreakedout. IwishIhadmythermoswithme. I always think clearer when I have it.”

“You’re welcome,” deadpanned Karen in a perfect imitation of his brother. Tweek scoffed amusedly, and hesitantly came closer to the little girl.

“How did you find me though ? And where did you find that card ? Whatisit ?” he asked, tending the rectangular cardboard for her to take. She grazed her thumb over it, feeling the small relief that seemingly had trapped whatever was controlling Tweek inside.

“I am Mysterion’s assistant,” she lied. “I followed him, and he gave me this. But he’s not here though, he went back in town to look for help, you know.” Tweek looked at her, confused brow knitted together. “But I thought your brother was missing,” he said. Karen cocked her own eyebrow, taking this as one of Tweek’s illogical logic. “Yes ? And ?”

“And you said you were Mysterion’s assistant while you helped me ?”

“And ?”

“And, either of those affirmation has to be a lie, because Kenneth cannot be both missing and Mysterion on a mission.”

Karen froze, and Tweek froze with her, suddenly realizing that he said something wrong. He tried a sheepish smile, while he was rapidly searching through his head for something intelligent to say, until the sound of a familiar voice saved him from embarrassment.

“Tweek !”called Craig at the top of his lungs.

“We’re here !” Tweek answered while raising on wobbly legs. Never in his life had he been for grateful for his boyfriend. And for his own ability to scream loudly.

It was almost comical, how they looked like they were in a movie, running towards each other in slow motion due to the snow that raised up to their knees. They hugged, and suddenly the couple was tackled in the snow as the other wannabe superheroes joined in a mess of screaming of relief and glee. Craig refused to let him go, even after the group of friends untangled themselves from their embrace. “I brought your thermos,” said Craig in lieu of greetings, like he hadn’t spent the last twenty four hours looking throughout town for him in a frenzy. Tweek smiled sweetly at his antics. “You’re the best.”

“I know”.

“I’m sorry to interrupt”, started Wendy, “but what were you doing in the mountains? And why you never answered your calls ? And what is this little girl doing here with you?” she said, pointing to Karen.

“Hey, isn’t it Kenny’s sister ?” asked a kid disguised as a kite. Karen took some time to identify him as Kyle, without his ushanka and with this weird costume.

“Iwaspossessed, man !” shrilled Tweek in a voice that made his boyfriend cover his ears, wincing. “I totally lost control of my body ! Icouldn’teven… move ! And, I don’t know how, but the McCormick girl kind of helped me ?”

“Well, I guess that some questions have to be answered, then…” squinted Wendy threateningly in the girl’s direction.

From her spot on the ground, Karen waved sheepishly at them, despite the bitter taste of betrayal in the back of her throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, do you guys have any assumptions/theories about this fic ? I would love to hear them. I'm also kind of scared that I'm being too obvious, but oh well... It took me a long time to pull this chapter together but I really like it in the end. I wasn't truly satisifed with the last one but I really needed to update.  
> Please let me know if you have access to chapter 5 or if the date is just a bug from Ao3.
> 
> Hope to see you for the last chapter of this story !


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